Preview: Albirex Niigata vs Brunei DPMM FC

Albirex out to end Bruneian run

Syahrom Sulaiman
info@sleague.com

Albirex Niigata (S) team manager Bogdan Brasoveanu is hoping his side can end the early-season success story of Brunei DPMM FC when the two teams meet on Tuesday at the Jurong East Stadium.

The Bruneians remain unbeaten after eight games in their debut Great Eastern-YEO'S S.League campaign, but Brasoveanu is not daunted by the visit of Vjeran Simunic’s men.

“We are always optimistic and positive as we prepare for every game. It does not serve any purpose for us to be too worried about our opponents. We should only concentrate on how we play our football at the end of the day,” said Brasoveanu.

The young Japanese went down 1-2 to Korean archrivals Super Reds last week but Brasoveanu says the defeat will not dampen their spirits.

“I must accept that we did not play our best against the Super Reds in our previous game. The first goal that we conceded was due to an individual mistake whereas for the second goal, we were not sure whether (it was) a valid goal.

“We need to concentrate on how we play on Tuesday. Hopefully, the players can bounce back after the defeat to inflict DPMM’s first loss in the league,” said the Romanian.

Brasoveanu can take heart from the White Swans’ home record. Albirex usually do well in front of their home crowd and have taken three wins from four home games this season.

“Out of the four games that we played at home, we won three. But considering that this is a young team, consistency has always been an issue. Hopefully we can take advantage of our home ground and play well against DPMM,” he said.

Their last loss at Jurong East was over two months ago in February, a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Sengkang Punggol.

Equally confident though are DPMM, who are the toast of the S.League after defying most expectations. Last week, they earned a hard-fought 2-1 win over previously unbeaten Gombak United, displacing them from the top of the table for a day.

Sairol Sahari, Azwan Salleh and Croatian midfielder Ivan Jerkovic have shown their proficiency from set-pieces this season – Sairol scored two against Gombak from freekicks - and the White Swans will do well not to commit any unnecessary fouls near the edge of their penalty box.

DPMM head coach Vjeran Simunic is likely to stick with the same set of players which served him well in the game against the Bulls.

This means that Shahrazen Said will partner Korean Oh Ddog Yi up front yet again, with Algerian forward Abdel Hamid Berguiga an extremely effective option off the bench.

The White Swans’ coach Naoki Naruo has pacy players at his disposal to cause problems to an experienced but ageing DPMM backline.

The Bruneians have probably pinpointed Albirex’s danger men as the forward duo of Akira Takase and Kenji Adachihara. However, Naruo still has an ace up his sleeve in Taisuke Akiyoshi.

The fleet-footed midfielder is comfortable on both flanks and he might just be the key to unlocking a very impressive DPMM backline on Tuesday.