| Fadhil Yunus |
MENGLAIT FC player-coach Pengiran Mohd Sallehuddin Pengiran Sarifudin has promised to give their best in their final three games in the Brunei DST Premier League which will aid their cause of not only winning the title but also promotion to the Brunei DST Super League.
Menglait stormed to the top of the Brunei DST Premier League after cruising to a comprehensive 6-0 victory over Kilanas FC at the Berakas Sports Complex yesterday.
“We will try our best to win the last three matches,” said Pengiran Sallehuddin after the match.
The promotion-chasing club currently lead unbeaten Al Idrus Junior with a slightly superior goal difference of three goals but having played a game extra than their rivals.
The Gadong outfit’s fourth consecutive win kept them in the hunt for the second division title in what appeared to be the tightest title race in years since the inception of the league.
The player-coach remained tight-lipped of clinching the Brunei DST Premier League despite three games away from fulfilling their ambition of top-flight football.
Menglait and Kilanas players vie for the ball. – FADHIL YUNUS
“We are not focused on the Brunei DST Super League because we want to improve our game and ensure we are completely ready for the top flight,” said Pengiran Mohd Sallehuddin.
Menglait’s fifth win in six victories also leave them three wins away from being guaranteed a berth in next year’s Brunei DST Super League which is a marked improvement considering they were 18 points off the pace of last year’s winners.
Pengiran Mohd Sallehuddin, who contributed with a goal, noticed his side have grown steadily week by week with fitness better conditioned and strategy implemented with success.
“Each game, the players must show consistency and be confident in winning,” he added.
The player-coach admitted his side struggled last year after forming a new-look side but has since improved considerably looking at their recent form and results this season.
Menglait striker Awangku Md Nurhidayat bin Pengiran Haji Abbas illustrated his threat as the primary striker turning his marker before smacking the ball wide from a fairly tight angle.
The promotion-chasing club broke the deadlock after Md Azim Hamidoon rounded goalkeeper Mohd Hasdattul Anirull Rizam Hassan before slotting home into the empty net.
Menglait forward Mohd Hidayattullah Haji Zaini seized on susceptible defence but still had a decent amount of work to evade a defender before rifling home a powerful low finish.
Kilanas looked to hit back after Ahmad Fauzan Haji Hamdan sprayed forward a delightful ball but unfortunately Muhd Hanafi Mohd Herry blasted his ball wide when only confronted by the goalkeeper.
His reaction of disappointment looked as if he was conscious with the significance of the miss as merely seconds later Mohd Nazirul Zulhilmi Haji Anuar poured a ball forward which was laid down with a perfectly cushioned header as a platform for the advancing Nurhidayat to stroke home.
Menglait’s player-coach Pengiran Mohd Sallehuddin bagged his team’s fourth before substitute Haji Mohd Faiz Fakhri Haji Damit made it fifth in the 81st minute.
Nurhidayat capitalised on individual error by Kilanas’s Mohd Shah Rizal Aji before keeping his composure to slide home past the hapless Hasdattul for his second of the game and Menglait’s sixth.
Menglait FC could edge ever closer to a spot in the Brunei DST Super League with a win over basement dwellers Rimba Star FC but Pengiran Sallehuddin will not view the clash lightly.
“Even though Rimba Star are bottom, we will not look down on them especially when they have beaten us 1-0 last year”, Pengiran Sallehuddin concluded.
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