Jason Thomas
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
Continued on Page A36
Friday, June 1, 2012
FOOTBALL AFC UNDER-14 FESTIVAL OF FOOTBALL National U-14 team beat Laos for 1st victory at AFC festival
BRUNEI finally won their first game of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-14 Festival of Football after beating Laos 1-0 yesterday.
The Sultanate had a slow start to the tournament in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, after losing all three of their games in Wednesday's opening day.
But picking up the pace yesterday, the team played out to a 0-0 draw against Myanmar before getting on the scoresheet for the first time in the 2-1 loss to Vietnam saving the best for the last when Mohd Syami Rashid netted the only goal against Laos.
The team opened their campaign with a
2-0 loss to Malaysia on Wednesday and were handed a 5-0 defeat by Laos in their second game. Their third match was a 2-0 loss to Indonesia.
The games were all played in 30 minutes with no half-time breaks. With 22 players representing the country, 11-member teams alternately played in each match, with substitutes only allowed in case of injury.
Despite the results the team's manager Pg Hj Zulkarnain Pg Hj Md Noor was upbeat when asked to comment on the country's performance.
"The players' confidence has developed over the games and their communication has also improved," he told The Brunei Times yesterday.
"They have taken on more responsibility ... and they have been able to keep the ball better.
"Our losses have been because the other teams were more prepared ... We have not sent a team to compete at an international age-group competition like this for three years.
"Most of the goals came from our mistakes ... (During) times when we lost focus inside the box. But credit to the boys, they have always had a strong fighting spirit," he added.
The competition takes a break today and the festival's focus shifts to skills assessment tests for all teams and players.
Brunei play two games tomorrow, the first against Timor Leste and the second against Singapore, before closing out their campaign against Australia on Sunday.
The format of play will change to two 30-minute halves, with the teams allowed to field different 11-member sides in each half if they so wish.
Pg Hj Zulkarnain explained that no finals will be contested in line with AFC's non-competitive spirit of the festival.
"These are all young players so AFC wants them to enjoy (the festival)," he said.
"All teams will get medals and certificates after the tournament.
"The focus here is on getting the players to enjoy themselves playing against other countries and our players have certainly done that."The Brunei Times
FOOTBALL
BRUNEI aren't putting any pressure on themselves at this week's Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-14 Festival of Football in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
A team of 22 footballers and five officials left for the May 30-June 3 event yesterday, and although they have only been training twice a week for two months, they have promised to give their best in the tournament.
"Of course everyone wants to be champions," pointed out team manager Pg Hj Zulkarnain Pg Hj Md Noor.
"But we'll see how the first match goes ... And from there we'll know our players' capabilities," he said, adding that he didn't know which group Brunei would be in as the draw was yet to be made.
The seventh edition of the event is set to attract more than 350 players from 12 countries all 10 ASEAN member nations plus Timor Leste and Australia.
The Sabah Times reported that the festival is divided into two phases; the first a series of coaching, refereeing and physiotherapist courses and workshops which started on May 21 while the second is the tournament proper.
The trip is the fourth that the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD) has sent a team to, and more significantly, it represents the youngest side the country has sent out in recent memory.
Brunei are no strangers to the competition though, and many will still remember the country's campaign in 2008 as the year the Sultanate made its mark in the tournament.
It was only four years ago that the country went undefeated in eight matches, leaving the Sabah capital as the only team in the competition not to lose a single game.
Returning to a hero's welcome, probably the most impressive of their five wins was their 3-2 result over regional powerhouse Indonesia.
The majority of this year's team are made up of players from the Sports School, with the remaining coming from the Department of Youth and Sports' football scheme.
It made the job of choosing players a whole lot easier, starting out with 40 and whittling the number down to the current 22.
Speaking to the team before their departure, NFABD general-secretary Mohd Noor Hj Abdullah reminded the players of the trip's potential to open doors in the future.
"This could be the first step in becoming a national footballer," he said.
"Show us your quality ... There will be many chances like this to represent the country again.
"Be committed, disciplined and work hard and always remember to take care of Brunei's good name.
"Your parents are proud of you too so don't disappoint them."
The Brunei Times
