Shahrazen Hj Md Said fired DPMM FC to the top of the Singapore League(S-League) last night after his goal in the 61st minute against Sengkang Punggol saw the Bruneians earn a 1-0 win at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas.
Unbeaten since the start if the season, the striker's first goal of the campaign ensured that DPMM's record remains intact and the club can now bask in the glory of being at the summit of the 12-team league six matches into their debut match.
Underfire by some for not finding the net despite starting regularly, the 23-year old proved his critics wrong last night with a dipping volley from outside the box just past the hour mark.
Falling to his knees in celebration,the Malaysian Super League's top scorer two seasons silently rejoiced for having broken his duck.
The goal capped off a period of pressure which began a few minutes after the restart, with Shahrazen timing his shot well to connect on the ball after a Sengkang defender headed it in his direction in what was a poor clearance from a DPMM corner.
The dismissal of Sengkang defender, Jerry Bertholomeusz in the 75th minute after being a second yellow card for his arguing with the referee - his first coming earlier when he kicked a water bottle onto the pitch - should have meant another goal, but none materialised.
Sengkang seemed content to pile players behind the ball and absorb the pressure but DPMM managed to carve a trio of chances to double their lead, all coming from players who started on the bench.
Substituted into the game at the start of the second half for midfielder Rosmin Khamis, the Algerian striker Abdel Hamid Berguiga almost opened his accout in the 79th minute.
Catching Sengkang keeper Fahmy Rahman off his line, the 35-year old tried a cheeky goal with a sublime left-footed shot from the left-corner flag but the attempt sailed inches wide off the far post.
Nine minutes later it was midfielder Hardi Bujang who came closest from scoring, but his long range shot curled wide off the right post.
Striker Abu Bakar Mahari, who replaced Shahrazen in the 78th minute, had a chance to add to his tally of two goals this season but his shot after receiving a cross from Abdel Hamid on the left was saved by Fahmy.
The Dolphins never really threatened after Shahrazen's opener, with their best chance comingfrom Canadian striker Anthony Bahadur who was flagged for offside after creating space on the right abd unleashing a shot but was saved by the keeper.
In the dying seconds of the match,Abdoulaye Diallo had a long range shot which was comfortably saved by Wardun - though many a fan were breathing sighs of relief when the goalkeeper calmly prevented the desperate attempt by the Guinean to find an equaliser.
After a lacklustre first quarter hour, DPMM started asserting control with strong runs from midfield by Hj Md Subhi Abdilah on the right.
But without anyone to spark in attack in the final third, the home side seldom looked like finding the back of the net.
Shahrazen came the closest in the 38th minute after cutting past two players on the left but his shot sailed harmlessly wide off the crossbar.
Wardun was hardly troubled, only called into action in the 25th minute when he was forced to save a volley from Diallo and again in the 37th minute when he dived fearlessly to the ground to prevent the oncoming Sengkang captain Indra Shahdan Daud from scoring.
For DPMM head coach Vjeran Simunic, the victory went a long way in proving not only Shahrazen's naysayers wrong but also the club's with the Croatian stating that Sengkang were out to hand them their first defeat.
"They(Sengkang)came here to dethrone us, and fight for Singapore, but they now return very ashamed because we are on top of the league," said Simunic.
"Many people were saying we would be bottom but you have to turn the table upside down now to find us
"It was a wonderful game and we played very very well... I know the the players were motivated because of the full stadium."
"I am very happy with the crowd today and I think there are 20,000 fans here ... Maybe in our next game we will get 30,000."
"I know that Bruneians love football and this game shows them that they have a team worth watching. They watch on the television games which Chelsea play ... Liverpool play."
"Why watch that when you have your very own Chelea and Liverpool here?" he asked.
Simunic added that though he felt the team deserved a second goal, he was happy that Shahrazen had scored because he knew the striker was under pressure.
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