Ak Fauzi Pg Salleh & Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
BRUNEI’S lacklustre performance in the first leg came back to haunt them as they bowed out of the AFF Suzuki Cup despite a 1-0 victory over Timor Leste last night.
The Wasps lost the first leg 3-1 away in Kuala Lumpur last Saturday and exited the campaign in front of their home crowd losing 3-2 on aggregate.
Najib Hj Tarif scored the only goal for the national side in the 74th minute despite controlling the game for the entire 90 minutes at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas.
Head coach Kwon Oh-son knew it was going to be tough to get two goals against a disciplined side to offset the deficit they incurred in the first leg.
Adi Said in action against TImor Leste. Picture: Yee Chun Leong
The South Korean desperately threw on his entire arsenal in search of goals, unleashing his best players Azwan Ali Rahman, brothers Adi and Shahrazen Said in the attack and Leicester City Reserves Faiq Jefri Bollkiah also added firepower upfront.
Brunei dominated possession and moved the ball around with purpose but they failed to create any real opportunities in the opening minutes.
The visitors were the first to create a real chance when Jenrique Wilson Da Cruz set Rufino Walter Gama open to fire a shot outside the penalty box but his effort flew over bar.
Rufino brought down Helmi Zambin to give away a freekick in the 16th minute for the Wasps’ first real chance in the game.
Azwan Ali Rahman’s left-footed effort went straight into Timor Leste goalkeeper Aderito Raul Fernandes’ arms as Brunei’s front liners were ready to pounce on the rebound.
Minutes later, Adi beautifully picked out his older brother Shahrazen at the far edge. The DPMM FC striker calmly took the ball down before adjusting his body to fire a shot but Timor Leste players were too fast to close down any space.
Faiq Jefri Bolkiah (L) and Joao Pedro Da Silva Freitas battle for the ball. Picture: Yee Chun Leong
A scramble in front of goal following a corner kick saw the ball fall in front of Ak Yura Indera Putera Pg Yunos to slam it home but his first touch let him down.
A golden chance came at the half hour mark for Brunei as Shahrazen forced his way past two Timor Leste players to set Faiq on the left, but his shot went straight into the goalkeeper.
Shahrazen was involved again just before half-time after making a beautiful run to head Azwan’s cross from the left but his effort was read well by Aderito.
Timor Leste came out a different team in the second-half and they came close to scoring when Nataniel De Jesus Reis blasted from outside the penalty box to force goalkeeper Haimie Anak Nyaring for a heroic save.
Paulo Domingos Gali Da Costa Freitas (C) skips past Abdul Mu'iz Sisa. Picture: Yee Chun Leong
Joao Pedro Da Silva Freitas also came close when he was set through following a counter attack, the winger skipping past his marker but firing his shot just wide.
Brunei responded with Shahrazen setting Helmi on the right flank to whip in a beautiful cross for Faiq for a half-volley but his shot was palmed away by Aderito.
The Wasps’ finally found the net when Najib slammed home from close range connecting with Razimie Ramlli’s touch following a corner kick by Azwan Ali.
Brunei threw on all their strikers from the bench bringing in Hamizan Aziz Sulaiman in the final minutes but Timor Leste held on to their one goal aggregate advantage to qualify for the tournament proper, where they will join defending champions Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore in Group B.
Brunei coach Kwon Oh-son (C) and captain Faiq Jefri Bolkiah (R) on the podium after the match last night. Picture: Yee Chun Leong
Brunei coach Kwon Oh-son
We dominated throughout the 90 minutes. Our game plan was to attack and score goals and hopefully proceed into the group stage.
The players did well. However, there was a clear lack of finishing as we had a lot chances to score. The lack of finishing cost us the game in the end.
The performance was there and hopefully the players can look at it and the experience from this painful win. Hopefully they can gain more experience for other competitions a and perform better for the next AFF Suzuki Cup.
Brunei captain Faiq Bolkiah
I thought we came up with a different game plan. We knew we needed the goals so we played higher than usual with three or four up top with the new formation.
I think to get a win here is a good result but not enough obviously. I feel referee had a big part to play in it. Some of his calls were no where near close and stopped us from gaining momentum getting forward.
