Harimau Muda A bite into Brunei's perfect record

Ak Fauzi Pg Salleh


BANDAR SERI BEGAW
Thursday, September 6, 2012

HARIMAU Muda A delivered Brunei their first defeat in three games yesterday at the UiTM campus in Shah Alam, Malaysia.
The national team lost 4-1 to the Malaysian Under-22 side as part of their preparations for next month's Asean Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup qualifiers in Myanmar.

The young tigers started off brightly in the game with Tamil Arhasu finding the back of the net just eight minutes into the game.

Wan Zaharul Nizam would make it 2-0 for the homeside just 10 minutes later.

Brunei would claw one back just before halftime, Mohd Julremi Hj Zaini scoring his debut goal for the national team to half their deficit to 2-1 in the 43rd minute.

Their jubilation was short lived though with Sarvindran scoring the third goal for Harimau Muda in the 63rd minute, re-establishing the two-goal cushion for his team.

Ferris Danial would make it 4-1 seal the win and end all hopes of a late Brunei comeback.

The Sultanate will next face last season's Malaysian Super League (MSL) champion Kelantan at the Sultan Muhammad IV stadium in Kota Bharu, Kelantan.

Brunei's last participation in the region's most prestigious tournament came in 2008, when they failed to advance to the main draw after being held to one win, one draw and two losses during the qualifiers in Cambodia.

This year's campaign will see them play hosts Myanmar in their opening match on Oct 5.

Cambodia will be next on the schedule on Oct 9 followed by Laos and Timor Leste on Oct 11 and Oct 13 respectively.

All matches are scheduled to kick off at the Youth Training Centre in Yangon.

Malaysia are the tournament's defending champions after beating Indonesia 4-2 on aggregate in 2010.


It was their first time lifting the cup since the tournament first kicked off in 1996.

The defending champions and co-hosts will play 2010 runners-up Indonesia, three-time winners Singapore and the second-placed team from the qualifying tournament in Group B of the AFF Suzuki Cup from November 24 to December 1.


The Brunei Times



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