Albirex Niigata 2 Brunei DPMM 2

Posted 5 Hours Ago at 03:48 PM by Sleezevil from kallangroar.com

It would be a fair assertion to say that Brunei DPMM have not been as stretched so far in their S-League adventure, as they were in the first 15 minutes of their clash against Albirex Niigata at the Jurong East Stadium last night.

In that period, the Japanese outfit scored one, and perhaps should have scored another three.

The Bruneians were on the ropes. The team that conquered Gombak United was left to chase the ball around the pitch like the little boy no-one wants to pass to at the park, while the Japanese youngsters swept up the turf with consummate ease.

The lively Kenji Adachihara scored in the 10th minute from a rebound of his own shot superbly saved by DPMM goalkeeper Wardun Yussuf, and had a another attempt two minutes later saved on the line by two defenders rushing back to the goalline.

Keisuke Ogawa, playing on the left of a three-man attack, also had two shots tipped wide by Wardun at the near post during this time, and even outspoken DPMM coach Josip Simunic must have been lost for words.

He took out bustling midfield man Azwan Salleh in the 20th minute for striker Abdelhamid Berguiga – a sure sign things were not going right for them since the Croat has been largely loyal to his first eleven so far this season.

His team, so dependent on the width of Haji Subhi Abdilah and Sairol Sahari on the flanks, could not string a dozen passes together, as the Japanese youngsters bullied them with raw energy and almost ‘total-football-esque’ movement off the ball.

Shahrazen Said had fired a shot in which went wide, the DPMM front-man then turning provider, finding Berguiga on the run.

The Algerian controlled the ball, checked back to his right foot, and shot – but straight into the side-netting.

Five minutes before the break, DPMM’s Korean striker Oh Ddog Yi volleyed an effort from outside the area which Albirex goalkeeper Yoshito Matsushita lazily parried into the path of Shahrazen, who could not get his shot off.

A minute later though, the shaven-headed Brunei international did get his goal, pouncing from close range with the Albirex defence flat-footed.

The Albirex centre-half Shota Matsuoka, who had been having an unremarkable game up to second half, then decided to start entertaining the fans with some comical defending.

In the 49th minute, he mistimed a tackle to set Berguiga free on goal, but his partner and Albirex skipper Ryota Kobayashi made a superb face-saving tackle in the box to deter the DPMM striker.

To mistime a tackle on a pacy, fleet-footed winger is one thing, but when you flop your challenge on a 1.85m hulk who turns 35 next week, you know you’re having a bad game.

Matsuoka should be thankful he has teammates willing to disguise his inadequacies – just as how Kobayashi made a tackle on one end, midfielder Kunihiro Honda struck at the other end.

In what was a borderline-farcical turn of events, Tetsuya Kishida burst past Pengiran Sallehudin Damit on the right, who inexpicably went down clutching his face, to cross into the box.

Adachihara missed, Honda had his first attempt blocked by Wardun, but saw the ball come back to him to roll the ball home to put his team ahead again.

DPMM came charging back, centre-half Rene Komar providing a glorious lofted pass to Oh. His first touch was so bad though, it invited Matsushida to come racing off his line to collect.

By and large, Oh has looked more like a brooding, temperamental player than the double-figures Super Reds top-scorer of last season, and picked up a booking two minutes later that would rule him out of the Wasps’ crunch tie with champions SAFFC next week.

Kobayashi made another potential game-winning tackle on Shahrazen on the hour mark, but the Matsuoka horror show had not ended yet though.

A minute later, he lost the ball near the halfway line to Berguiga again, and the DPMM striker’s long-range chip went over the stranded Matsushida, but floated just wide of the post.

That was Matsuoka’s last contribution to the game, as he was hauled off and replaced by Takatoshi Uchida.

DPMM also made another change, Simunic throwing on super-sub Abu Bakar Mahari for Sairol.

It was Berguiga though, who got the eventual equliser, nodding in a cross with such deceptive ease, you wonder if the Albirex defence were trying to stop him at all.

Hopeful long-range efforts from Adachihara and Berguiga were all either side could muster in the last 10 minutes, as the game slowly ebbed to an end.

Simunic admitted after the game that his team were lucky to escape with a draw – they would have lost 5-0 if they had played that way against SAFFC, he said.

Some observers believe the game against the Warriors to be the acid test for DPMM.

Perhaps though, with Subhi, Sairol, Komar and Yusof Salleh all one yellow card away from suspension, the next few games would be a more accurate gauge as to just how far they can go this season.