| Fadhil Yunus |
BRUNEI Darussalam national Under-18 team were edged 1-0 by Malaysia in Group ‘F’ of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-19 Championship qualifiers at the Paju Public Stadium in Paju, South Korea yesterday.
It was a step-up from the national juniors in terms of minimising the damage following back-to-back emphatic losses to Indonesia and South Korea but they made a huge effort to deny the young Malayan Tigers a convincing victory.
However, the young Wasps were denied a point after Muhammad Zafuan Azeman pulled a spectacular effort from outside the box with the flight of the ball taking beyond the despairing arms of Brunei Under-18s goalkeeper Abdul Mutalip Awang in the 77th minute.
Malaysia tried a shot from distance but it was comfortably saved by Abdul Mutalip, who was given the nod ahead of Awangku Muhammad Amirul Hakim bin Pengiran Zulkarnain who started in the South Korea drubbing.
Brunei Darussalam national under-18 head coach Takao Fujiwara has kept faith in Abdul Mutalip, who showed his goalkeeping qualities in the Indonesia game evident with his wonderful save from an Egy Maulana Vikri’s fierce drive.
A Malaysian winger darted through the flanks before sending a cross to a team-mate whose shot was dealt with by Abdul Mutalip.
The young Wasps were presented a good chance to break the deadlock after a player floated ball into the centre but the most advancing attacker on the receiving end skied his effort wide.
Malaysia forward Shafizi Iqmal Khirudin sidestepped the Bruneian defence before pulling a decent shot to the far post but Abdul Mutalip responded with a fine stop illustrating competition in the goalkeeping department.
But the young Malayan Tigers wasted a good chance to take the lead after a player who perfected the first part taking the ball in his stride fired wide from point blank range following good work down the left-wing from Ahmad Tasnim Fitri.
It was Ahmad Tasnim again who was pivotal in the build-up play leading to Malaysia’s opener after setting up Muhammad Zafuan with a short pass.
However, Muhammad Zafuan still had work to do as he curled a sublime effort on the turn which flew past Abdul Mutalip.
Takao Fujiwara told AFC, “We focussed on recovering our mentality after the big loss against Korea Republic. My players did their utmost to prove their quality, but it was not enough. There is still a lot to be developed to reach a higher level.”
Meanwhile, Takao’s opposite number Malaysia head coach Bojan Hodak found Brunei tough to crack despite their opponents shipping a flurry of goals after two games. “It was a tough game indeed, but we won. Brunei were playing with nine players behind the ball, so we had a hard time beating them,” the former JDT head coach was quoted as saying to AFC.
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