Hamizan Aziz Sulaiman of Indera SC (L) challenges MS ABDB captain
SLD Affendy Hj Akup during the DST FA Cup final in December
2012.Picture: BT file
Friday, February 1, 2013
ROYAL Brunei Armed Forces Sports Council (MS ABDB) manager Major
Azaman Hj Husin yesterday claimed rivals Indera Sports Club are their
only threat to their DST Super League title ambitions.
MS ABDB clinched their first silverware of the season when they defeated DST Super League leaders Indera Sports Club 1-0 in the DST FA Cup final in December, so the two teams are certainly no strangers.
Third in the 10-team table, MS ABDB currently trail Indera on goal difference and with only three rounds of action left, have a good shot at winning the league.
Speaking to The Brunei Times ahead of his team's clash against basement dwellers Najip FC tonight, Major Azaman said that Indera were the only team capable of stopping their charge for a double.
"I think that Indera and us have that gap over the Royal Brunei Police Force Sports Council (MS PDB) and Majra FC," said Major Azaman of the second and fourth-placed teams.
"It will be difficult to think the two of us will collapse in the remaining matches (so) I think it will be between the two of us," he added.
Approaching the final few games of the season, Major Azaman knows it will be important to give some key players a break since there are some tough matches ahead and injuries could affect their title hopes.
"We still need to face strong teams like Indera and QAF FC, so we will need to rotate the players and keep the team fresh for each game," said Major Azaman.
"I will make some changes for tomorrow's game against Najip no question.
"I will rest a number of key players including captain SLD Affendy Hj Akup, left-back KPL Mohd Haizul Rani Metusin and goalkeeper SLD Mohd Tarmizi Hj Mat Johari.
"We will need to do that as they are very important players for us.
"Moreover, they are still recovering from injury, but I will probably keep my (other) experienced players up front as we need to win and score goals," he added.
Though Najip lost their last game 20-1 to a merciless Indera, Major Azaman knows that resting too many players for tonight's game could lead to trouble.
"We are not going to take the game lightly as Najip are one the top-10 teams in the elite national league this season, and we respect them for that," he said.
"We dropped two points against Majra (on Monday) and we should not allow that to happen again," he insisted.
Key players including Haizul Rani and Affendy were all absent in the game against Majra, which ended 2-2 at the Balapan Track & Field at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex in Berakas. KPL Mohd Hardi Hj Matassan and SLD Md Baharin Hamidon found the net for MS ABDB on the night, but the match was the first time the soldiers had dropped points all season and let in more than a goal in a game.
Najip have undoubtedly had a tougher week after the record 20-1 thrashing by Indera, the defeat leaving them still searching for their first points of the season.
"We had a very difficult week and the players are not in a good spirit after the Indera defeat," said manager Najip Hj Moktal.
"Tomorrow we will go up against another strong team in the league. It is always difficult to play against MS ABDB but we will try our best to get something out of the match tomorrow."
Kick off is at 8:15pm at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas.
MS ABDB clinched their first silverware of the season when they defeated DST Super League leaders Indera Sports Club 1-0 in the DST FA Cup final in December, so the two teams are certainly no strangers.
Third in the 10-team table, MS ABDB currently trail Indera on goal difference and with only three rounds of action left, have a good shot at winning the league.
Speaking to The Brunei Times ahead of his team's clash against basement dwellers Najip FC tonight, Major Azaman said that Indera were the only team capable of stopping their charge for a double.
"I think that Indera and us have that gap over the Royal Brunei Police Force Sports Council (MS PDB) and Majra FC," said Major Azaman of the second and fourth-placed teams.
"It will be difficult to think the two of us will collapse in the remaining matches (so) I think it will be between the two of us," he added.
Approaching the final few games of the season, Major Azaman knows it will be important to give some key players a break since there are some tough matches ahead and injuries could affect their title hopes.
"We still need to face strong teams like Indera and QAF FC, so we will need to rotate the players and keep the team fresh for each game," said Major Azaman.
"I will make some changes for tomorrow's game against Najip no question.
"I will rest a number of key players including captain SLD Affendy Hj Akup, left-back KPL Mohd Haizul Rani Metusin and goalkeeper SLD Mohd Tarmizi Hj Mat Johari.
"We will need to do that as they are very important players for us.
"Moreover, they are still recovering from injury, but I will probably keep my (other) experienced players up front as we need to win and score goals," he added.
Though Najip lost their last game 20-1 to a merciless Indera, Major Azaman knows that resting too many players for tonight's game could lead to trouble.
"We are not going to take the game lightly as Najip are one the top-10 teams in the elite national league this season, and we respect them for that," he said.
"We dropped two points against Majra (on Monday) and we should not allow that to happen again," he insisted.
Key players including Haizul Rani and Affendy were all absent in the game against Majra, which ended 2-2 at the Balapan Track & Field at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex in Berakas. KPL Mohd Hardi Hj Matassan and SLD Md Baharin Hamidon found the net for MS ABDB on the night, but the match was the first time the soldiers had dropped points all season and let in more than a goal in a game.
Najip have undoubtedly had a tougher week after the record 20-1 thrashing by Indera, the defeat leaving them still searching for their first points of the season.
"We had a very difficult week and the players are not in a good spirit after the Indera defeat," said manager Najip Hj Moktal.
"Tomorrow we will go up against another strong team in the league. It is always difficult to play against MS ABDB but we will try our best to get something out of the match tomorrow."
Kick off is at 8:15pm at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas.
The Brunei Times
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