16 August 2015

Mixed feelings for Kean


Saturday, August 15, 2015

DPMM FC coach Steve Kean was left with mixed feelings after watching his charges drop to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Tampines Rovers FC in the second leg of their Singapore Cup quarter-final on Thursday night.
DPMM FC shotstopper Wardun Yussof had saved Fahrudin Mustafic’s injury time penalty but Ismadi Mukhtar scored on the rebound at the Jurong West Stadium in Singapore.
However, the Brunei side still advanced to the semi-finals for the second consecutive season – winning 3-2 on aggregate.
Kean was delighted to make it into the last-four of the tournament but felt that they performed well under par.
“We have set a high standard after having so many good games so far this season. So it is disappointing to drop below that,” said Kean in an interview with The Brunei Times when contacted.
“Normally we will get nine or 10 chances in a game but we only managed to create one or two.
“We know that we can’t defend for 90 minutes as the best form of defence is attack. Maybe it is just the subconscious of the players as we led (3-1) from the first leg.
“I think we were a little reluctant to go forward and the opposition sensed that. They had more possession and it was unusual,” added the Scotsman.
“But overall I’m still happy that we managed to get into the semi-finals especially against a team like Tampines.
“The defending was excellent as Boris (Raspudic), Brian (McLean) and Wardun were all fantastic. But we’ve got to keep stretching ourselves and keep demanding,” continued the former Blackburn Rovers manager.
On the other hand, Stags coach V Sundramoorthy asked his charges to turn their full attention to the Singapore League (S-League).
“Overall, the boys tried (to make it into the semi-finals). We need to move on and that’s my call to the team,” said Sundramoorthy to the S-League.
“We had a number of chances in the game, but we didn’t convert and in football, you need to put the ball in the back of the net – this is where the results are counted,” he added.
“We will now focus on the league – that’s the only thing we have in the balance and let’s try to see what we can do in the league,” continued the former Singapore national footballer.
DPMM FC will now turn their attention to their S-League match against defending champions Warriors FC at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Portuguese forward Paulo Sergio, who picked up a hamstring on Aug 1, is recovering well and back in training.

The Brunei Times

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