DPMM FC suffer against Protectors due to poor refereeing

Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

DPMM FC slumped to their 12th defeat of the S.League season with a 4-1 defeat to Home United FC last night after key refereeing decisions didn’t go their way.

The Brunei side are stuck on five points from 15 games and remain second from bottom in the nine-team table.

The visitors got off to a good start and grabbed the lead through Faris Ramli in the 15th minute after he got at the end of a Sirina Camara cross from the left for a simple tap in.

They doubled their lead three minutes later courtesy of a Stipe Plazibat penalty, which was awarded after Shamil Sharif was tripped by Abd Mu’iz Sisa in the box.

DPMM FC got back in the game on the half hour mark through Rafael Ramazotti after he got the better of his markers to poke the ball past Home United goalkeeper Hassan Sunny.

Faris Ramli (R) bagged two goals and one assist in the win against DPMM FC last night. Seven of his nine goals in the S.League have come against the Brunei side. Picture: Yee Chun Leong

The Brunei side had a great opportunity to level five minutes later after a cutback by Helmi Zambin for Azwan Ali Rahman but the latter fired inches wide despite Hassan beaten in between the Home sticks.

The hosts should have been awarded a penalty in the 38th minute after one of the Home United players handled the ball in the area.

Referee Nathan Chan waved off all appeals and to make matters worse, the Protectors restored their two-goal cushion after Faris poked home Plazibat’s ball from the right off a counterattack.

DPMM FC never gave up and went in search of goals. Adi Said came close with a freekick heading into the bottom left corner nine minutes after halftime but Hassan kept out his shot.

In a bizarre moment, Hazwan Hamzah was shown a second yellow card in the 63rd minute after bringing down substitute Khairul Nizam but wasn’t sent off.

He stayed on the pitch for the next three minutes and was only given his marching orders when another match official helped the referee with the decision.

Home grabbed their fourth in the 78th minute after a cutback by Faris for Khairul to slot the ball past DPMM FC custodian Ak Mu’izzuddin Pg Ismail.

DPMM FC eventually finished the match with nine men after Vincent Salas was shown a straight red card for his tackle in stoppage time.

DPMM FC starting XI against Home United FC. Picture: Yee Chun Leong

DPMM FC not as bad as scoreline suggests

DPMM FC coach Steve Kean expressed that the scoreline didn’t reflect how well his charges played and praised them for their showing.

“I thought our performance was excellent. People who weren’t at the game will see the result and think we lost the game and didn’t play well,” said Kean.

“I’m delighted with the players' application and attention to organisation.

“If really anybody was here, they know why the result is the way it is. I have never seen so many poor decisions in one match,” he added.

The Scotsman highlighted that the missed penalty was the turning point in the encounter and hopes that refereeing decisions will take a turn for a better.

“It was a massive blow to the players with the penalty decision that we should have gotten.

"We didn’t get it and then they got a counterattack and score. It was a two-goal decision and it went against us again,” stressed the former Blackburn Rovers manager.

“We then got a crazy situation where our player picks up another yellow card, which is a red obviously, but for some reason the referee didn’t realise he had already booked him,” said Kean.

“There has to be somebody… fourth official or linesman to help him. The referee job is always hard and I always respect how hard it is.

“But we can’t keep getting decisions against us and cost us goals and also games,” he added.

“It is unfair to the players because we have put enough into game to at least draw

“I spoke to the (Home United) coach and they apologised. We can’t have opposition technical staff apologising for the performance of the referee.

“It has happened against us time and time again this season and that is no excuse. It is a fact,” concluded Kean.

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