Laos say grateful to Brunei for qualifying

Captain Rosmin Hj Muhd Kamis (R) defends Laos' Saynakhonevieng Phommapanya during their ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup qualifiers at the Youth Training Centre in Yangon, Myanmar. Picture: BT file

Jason Thomas

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

LAOS feel they have Brunei to thank for qualifying for next month's ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup.

After gritting out a 0-0 draw against hosts Myanmar during last week's qualifiers in Yangon, Laos needed Brunei to beat Timor Leste to advance to the November 24 - December 22 tournament.

Brunei, only had pride to play for after the 0-0 draw squashed their hopes of progressing, but with the Laotians cheering them on, would defeat Timor Leste 2-1 in what was probably the shock of the tournament allowing Laos to qualify second behind Myanmar.

Laos were only set to watch the first half but after Adi Said had put Brunei ahead in the 16th minute, the team couldn't bear to leave the Youth Training Centre.

"It was a big surprise because for us to go through, Timor Leste had to lose and Brunei did not have much to play for because they had already been eliminated," Laos team manager Kei Homma told Reuters.

"But Brunei played very well and when they took a 1-0 lead, our players started to cheer for them.

"We ended up watching the whole game and it was very nervous for us right at the end when Brunei were leading 2-1 and Timor Leste hit the post," he added.

Kei was just one of the millions of Laotians thanking Brunei for the win, with Laos Football Federation (LFF) general secretary Xaubandith Rasphone among those who paid tribute.

"I want to thank Brunei for playing a fantastic game," Xaubandith was quoted as saying on the AFF website.

"Their players put up a sensational performance and we would like to thank them for creating the chance for us to advance.

"Our team did not have a lot of time to prepare for this qualifier and we only trained for about a month and a half before coming here.

"We had also just hired a new coach (Kokichi Kimura from Japan), so we are obviously quite happy to make the final round," he added. Laos will play in the same group with defending champions Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore in Kuala Lumpur while Bangkok will host the other group featuring hosts Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines and Myanmar.

The Brunei Times