Menglait FC ground 10-man RBA FC

Dennis Lim
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN



Sunday, December 18, 2011

AK MD SALLEHUDDIN Pg Sarifudin was at the right place at the right time, twice, to secure a win for his team.

Menglait FC downed 10-man RBA FC 3-2 in the Group D clash of the DST National league at the Stadium Kebajikan Berakas Sports Complex yesterday.

Menglait FC's Hasnul Hidayat Abas scored the opening goal of the match to give his team the lead before Ak Md Sallehuddin cemented his team's position with a two goal contribution midway through the game

RBA FC's Pg Eirwan Pg Rais and Hasmadi Wahid both pitched in a goal respectively in the loss.

Both teams started the game with good intensity, gunning to score the opening goal of the match.

Hasnul took advantage of RBA FC's slight defensive slumber in the 30th minute to score the opener, heading the ball to the left of the keeper from an Amp Mohd Endy Azri Amp Hj Idris corner kick.

RBA FC's goalkeeper, Md Madini Abdullah Malai failed to react as he was left rooted.

Menglait FC ensued their offensive advantage through Ak Md Sallehuddin who was causing a ruckus with his jilted runs through the center of RBA FC's defence. Opportunities were aplenty for them but they couldn't time their runs adequately to latch on to the through balls.

Ak Md Sallehuddin could have scored earlier when a two-on-one situation presented itself but failed to do so as his shot went straight to Md Madini who made a routine save.

Pg Eirwan would help RBA FC level just two minutes after the start of the second half.

Menglait FC keeper Ak Md Mu'izzudin Pg Ismail had to rush up to cut out an attack, dribbling the ball away.

His attempt at a clearance hit the oncoming Pg Eirwan, deflecting the ball back into the top left corner.

The game was at one goal a piece but it wasn't going to stay that way for long.

In the 55th minute, Ak Md Sallehuddin picked up a parried attempt from an Amp Mohd Endy free kick.

There was nothing Md Madini could do as he was left on the ground after preventing the first attempt.

Bad news turned worse for RBA FC when Md Nazrul Haddy Hj Bujang was shown a red card for a tackle.

The foul caused an uproar on the field but officials and players managed to restore order to resume play.

RBA FC were not going to go down without a fight though.

They equalised again on the 70th minute through Hasmadi.

A free-kick from well over 30 yards was floated in to the center of the penalty box where Hasmadi beat the opposing defender to get a touch on the ball, looping the ball over Ak Md Mu'izzudin.

Ak Md Sallehuddin would respond three minutes from regulation time.

He jumped over his marker to head the ball past the keeper to record his brace and deliver his team the win.

"I'm excited for the win because we were definitely challenged by RBA FC. They are a very good team, even with 10-man in the second half but I'm proud of my players," said Menglait FC coach Mohd Nazib Hj Ali.

"They learned well from the training sessions but we still need to work on our defence and strategic plays," he added.The Brunei Times