| Fadhil Yunus |
TABUAN ‘A’ bagged a league and cup double after adding the NFABD Elite Under-16 Youth Cup to their trophy cabinet following a 2-0 win against a highly spirited Projek Ikan Pusu (PIP) in the final at the Track and Field Sports Complex yesterday.
Hafizul Razi bin Jomari managed to steer his header over line after Muhammad Badri Hakimin bin Aminuddin’s cross invited maximum pressure in the box before top scorer Mohd Hadif Aiman bin Haji Adanan capped the win with a neat finish a minute from time.
Tabuan ‘A’ head coach Takao Fujiwara said that they implemented a side attack after recognising that PIP, coached by the experienced Haji Omar bin Haji Jamil, had a compact defence.
“We tried to side attack because Ikan Pusu played a good compact defence. So that’s why we tried to side change”, said Fujiwara in an interview with the Bulletin after the victory.
Tabuan ‘A’ had already been crowned champions in the NFABD Under-16 Youth League and took the pedestal off after falling to a 3-0 defeat to PIP in the group stage.
“I left for around two months with the national team and after we were champions (Tabuan ‘A’) too many players were overconfident”, he added.
The Japanese was a part of the national team backroom staff during the AFF Suzuki Cup qualifiers and the AFC Solidarity Cup.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof in a group picture with winners Tabuan ‘A’. – FADHIL YUNUS
Fujiwara revealed that the 3-0 loss to PIP was a good wake-up call to his players.
The head coach assured that they were not protecting their lead and encouraged his young charges to intensify their search for the second goal.
He continued while professional players will go to great lengths to prevent their opponents by scoring even if it takes stopping their usual game it is not Tabuan’s nature to do the same.
“Before the game started, I spoke to them that even though we’re leading we do not protect only one goal. We finish and try to score the second goal”, he said.
“I don’t like to protect one goal and the goalkeeper wastes time. It is not for the youth team. The youth team must understand how to attack until the game finishes”.
While he acknowledged his players’ displays, Fujiwara insisted that there must be more training and push themselves further.
Asked on their immediate future, Fujiwara emphasised the urgency on more ball control training and working on most aspects of the game before concluding he was pleased to see his players were well disciplined.
Mohd Hadif Aiman finished as the competition’s top scorer with eighth goals including the final.
The guest of honour at the final was the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof, who presented the prizes.
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