| Fadhil Yunus |
AL IDRUS SC are in the hat for the quarter-final draw in the VFA Cup after cruising to a comfortable 5-2 victory over BSRC at the Royal Brunei Recreation Club in Berakas yesterday.
Al Idrus SC’s Ismail OKS Haji Tengah starred in the win with a hat-trick and his side now face the possibility of being drawn with their ally Al Idrus FT.
Al Idrus’s Soffriana Haji Masri sent a delightful cross into the centre as Ismail nipped in at the near post with a fine header in the 26th minute.
However, the provider should have turned scorer at the hour mark after Saiful Bahrin Haji Abdul Hamid inviting low ball eluded a touch of conviction from the unmarked player.
Al Idrus wasted no time to trouble BSRC after they lost possession needlessly enabling Ediruslan Haji Abdul Samad to fire an ambitious effort from distance which floated wide.
The second duly came as Al Idrus beat the offside trap with Ismail the beneficiary, guiding the ball into the empty net after being put on a silver platter by Mohd Rafi’e Haji Abdul Majid.
And it was not long until a third arrived as Ismail netted a superb hat-trick after latching onto a cross by a team-mate. Ismail nearly added a fourth but skewed his shot wide in the box.
BSRC pulled a goal back after Pengiran Shahminan bin Pengiran Haji Mahari headed home a cross from Haji Mohd Jazmi Muhd Hadi at the far post.
Al Idrus’s Mohamad Noor Tanjong struck a fierce low effort from 30 yards as BSRC goalkeeper parried the ball away for a corner.
The highly effective Mohammad Noor Tanjong was full of running as he set up Soffriana but the latter was unable to direct his shot towards goal.
Shk Nordin Shk Mohammad did brilliantly to skip his marker but his curled effort was saved by the BSRC goalkeeper.
Al Idrus restored their three-goal cushion after BSRC’s Hamry Haji Ali Ahmad unluckily diverted the ball into his own net in the 56th minute.
BSRC’s Mohamed Sufri Abdul Gapar found an opening and unleashed a firm drive but unluckily saw his effort brushed against the post.
With a team-mate causing distraction for the BSRC’s goalkeeper, Pengiran Haslini bin Pengiran Haji Kiply steered the ball into the empty net with Muhd Rafi’ie the architect of a teasing pass.
Mohd Noor produced a defence-splitting pass for Roslan but his subsequent delivery into the centre was not met by a team-mate as the ball rolled harmlessly away.
Moments later, BSRC scored a scant consolation through Haji Mohd Jazmi after launching a quick counter.
With what appeared to be a recurring pattern of play, Al Idrus’s Jamil Haji Ahmad sent a low pass into the other flank but Shk Nordin scuffed his shot wide.
BSRC FT missed a chance to add another consolation deep into injury time as Mohamed Sufri struck his shot straight at the Al Idrus goalkeeper after being teed up by Md Saharin Awang Haji Masri.