| Fadhil Yunus |
DPMM FC centre back Brian McLean has labelled playing alongside his club teammate Azwan Ali Rahman a privilege following the local winger’s sumptuous strike in the 2-0 win over Balestier Khalsa in the first leg of the Singapore Cup semi-final at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore on Wednesday night.
The local winger curled a fine effort from outside the box which helped ensure the Gegar Gegar men carry a valuable two-goal advantage ahead of the return leg at the Toa Payoh Stadium in Singapore on October 3.
“He’s (Azwan Ali) a top quality player. I play with him every day and it is a privilege to play with him,” McLean told the Singapore media.
“He definitely got that in his locker and he has been working so hard. He’s been trying to control his temperament,” he further added.
The former Young Player of the Year will be a notable absentee in the league game against the same opponent through suspension after being sent off in the Tampines Rovers game.
“But, it is good that he can rest his legs, get his head right for the second leg because we’re going to need something like that again,” he said.
The Northern Ireland defender also indicated that the Tigers took control in the opening half before heaping praise on the character of the squad which helped them with both their quests in the cup and league.
“I would say we were a little bit fortunate. The first 45 minutes they definitely controlled pretty much all of it,” he said.
“But, the character that we have in the dressing room has been phenomenal in the last few games and the resilience that we’ve shown again through the 90 minutes.
“We produced key moments at the right time and that is massive to win any game. We know it is only half-time within the cup tie so we have to recover right, eat well, rest and go again on Saturday.”
The former Hibernian defender was at the centre in the awarding of the penalty as it was his cross which led to Nurullah Hussein being adjudged to have handled the ball by the referee.
“The view that I had when I played the ball across was that he bent down far too low and his hand was going towards the ball.
“Whether his hand touched the ball it’s another question but the way I’ve seen I felt that his hand was going towards the movement of the ball,” he said.