| Fadhil Yunus |
THE Ministry of Development (MoD) will be meeting the Ministry of Home Affairs in the final of the Inter-Ministry Football Championship Keputeraan Cup in conjunction with the 71st birthday of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam after triumphing 2-0 over the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) at the Balapan Track and Field of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex last night.
It was a cruel way to exit from the competition for the PMO who had boasted a perfect record in the group stages but the MoD got the goals to ensure their passage into the next round.
Both teams drew blanks in a cautious opening first half but it was MoD who took the advantage after they led 1-0 courtesy of Haji Hassan bin Haji Damit in the 63rd minute.
The veteran received a good ball from their own half before passing through the opposition defence and unleashing a fine strike to put his side in the lead.
In the dying minutes of the match, Fakri bin Ismail sealed the tie after his effort took a deflection off a PMO player.
The competition continues with PMO and Ministry of Defence locking horns in a third place playoff on November 11 at the Berakas Sports Complex while finalists MoD and Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) will contest the title at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium on November 12.
MoD team manager Mohd Khairul Haji Bakar was proud of his players after reaching the final adding that their preparations has borne fruit. “We really felt the pressure from PMO but the players showed high level of discipline in their plans during their match and tweaking the tactics by deploying long balls strategy was a good move,” the team manager said.
With regards to the final, Mohd Khairul said that they will be hoping to provide great opposition to the MoHA and will be planning a raid for the title.
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