Brunei DPMM FC vs Young Lions Report [1-0]

Own goal sinks Young Lions in Brunei

Rano Iskandar
info@sleague.com

An outstanding goalkeeping performance by Izwan Mahbud was not enough to earn the Young Lions a draw in Bandar Seri Begawan as Bruneian side DPMM FC beat them 1-0 on Saturday evening.

Unfortunately for Izwan, the lone goal was scored by one of his own defenders, Shahir Hamzah deflecting Haji Subhi Abdilah’s second-half cross into his own net.

The own goal allowed DPMM to keep their perfect record at the Hassanal Bolkiah Stadium, even though they had put up one of their less impressive performances this season in front of a reduced crowd.

The team lacked coordination and only enjoyed short spells of good play during the course of the match, as Vjeran Simunic’s preferred strike partnership of Abdel Hamid Berguiga and Shahrazen Said left their shooting boots in the dressing room.

True to form, Simunic named his strongest eleven to face the Young Lions, who were without both their foreigners as captain Obadin Aikhena was suspended and Chinese striker Yang Mu was declared unfit.

Weakened by the two absences, a second draw with DPMM was the best Terry Pathmanathan’s side could have hoped for as they made only limited attacks on Wardun Yussof’s goal.

Most of the action was concentrated in the other half, but the Bruneian side found Izwan, who is still only 18, a hard nut to crack.

Picked ahead of Jasper Chan and the recently-recovered Hyrulnizam Juma’at, both of whom were watching from the bench, Izwan justified the faith placed in him by producing heroic saves against Berguiga, Shahrazen and wide midfielder Sairol Sahari in the first half.

On a couple of occasions he needed the goalposts to help him out, but such was his industry that he more than covered up for the unsteady defending from a backline that clearly missed Aikhena’s commanding influence.

There was nothing he could do about Shahir’s own goal, though, when it came on 56 minutes.

The 20-year-old was the victim of a wicked deflection that left his goalkeeper flat-footed.

Gabriel Quak Jun Yi came closest to putting the Young Lions on the other side of the scoresheet when he dribbled from the left and unleashed a powerful shot, but it flew across the face of goal to Wardun’s relief.

But DPMM, who have never won a match by more than one goal, did little to improve on that record for the remainder of the game.

Substitute Oh Ddog Yi was then sent off late in the game to make sure the night ended less than perfectly for Simunic’s men, who never came close to hitting the form that saw them overcome SAFFC in their previous home match.

But in a remarkable show of diplomacy, the Croatian praised his opponents for their performance.

“They gave us a tough game, and I can see why they are the future of the national team,” he said.

“We hit the crossbar a few times and we could have scored something ourselves but their keeper was very good.

“Still, I’m very happy with my team’s performance. I’m very happy with our players’s mentality, and we maintained our 100% record at home, which is very good.”

Young Lions coach Pathmanathan said the game was a good experience for his players, many of whom were travelling overseas to play in a high-level match for the first time in their fledgling careers.

“It was a very tough game for us. It was a great opportunity for our players to play a real away game for the first time.

“Technically we are not there yet. We are lacking the basics as you can tell. It’s still a long process and we have yet to develop.

“We are grooming our players for the SEA Games. Some might make it, some might not.

“But we have three good quality keepers at our disposal. I’m happy with Izwan, he will keep the other two keepers on their toes.”