TABUAN MUDA A LUCKY TO ESCAPE WITH DRAW AGAINST LUN BAWANG

Ak Fauzi Pg Salleh
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

TABUAN Muda A were fortunate to salvage a point after a 2-2 draw against Lun Bawang in their DST Super League match yesterday at the Balapan Track & Field in Berakas.

Lun Bawang who were clearly the better team in the encounter looked to be on course for a deserved three points when Romaino Maripa put his team ahead 2-1 in the 52nd minute, but a lucky goal by Abdul Hariz Herman just three minutes later helped Tabuan Muda A to avoid defeat.

Lun Bawang player (R) with the ball while defended by a Tabuan Muda A player. PIcture: Ak Fauzi Pg Salleh

Tabuan Muda A had a bright start and found the net as early as the ninth minute through Md Rahimin Abdul Ghani but it was all Lun Bawang for the remainder of the match.

Lun Bawang came close on many occasions with brothers Delson and Petrus Jumat masterminding the attack with the help of Rainney Lius and Romaino, but the Temburong district-based club just couldn’t find their touch especially in the final 20 minutes of the game.

Tabuan Muda A coach Takao Fujiwara felt that they simply performed below what they are capable of.

“It is the worst performance so far this season in the tournament for us… the players’ fitness level dropped remarkably and they were just not connecting well with their passes and we were lucky to come up with a draw from this game,” said Fujiwara in an interview with BruSports News after the match yesterday.

“The players continued training during the fasting month but for Hari Raya celebrations, we gave them five days break and their fitness level dropped significantly after and they were not playing smart in the game.

“I can see that they are very excited to play but everything was just not going well. We had more than 10 crosses in the second-half but none of them were received. The passing was very poor too and they were not thinking,” added the Japanese.

Tabuan Muda A (yellow) and Lun Bawang (blue) players in action. Picture: Ak Fauzi Pg Salleh

Tabuan Muda A will represent Brunei at the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Under-19 tournament in September in Myanmar and Fujiwara said that that there are many areas that require improvement ahead of the regional competition.

“Judging from today’s (Sunday’s) game, there are many areas that we need to work on… it is not going to be easy with the tournament coming very soon in September,” said Fujiwara.

“It is still early to judge how this team will go for the coming weeks, but all I can say now is that we need to work extra harder,” he concluded.