Veteran football gets $20,000 DST boost

Yee Chun Leong

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Saturday, January 10, 2015

THE Veteran Football Association (VFA) received a boost ahead of the new season after receiving $20,000 from telecommunications provider DST in an official sponsorship presentation yesterday.
DST CEO Suhaimi Hussain handed over the cheque to the VFA president Roslin Suhailee in the presence of DST and VFA members at the DST Headquarters in Tungku Link.
This is the sixth year in a row – since 2010 — that DST has contributed to the development of veteran football in the Sultanate.
A total of 34 teams separated into seven groups will be vying for top honours in the VFA President’s Cup this year.

Al-Idrus, Ministry of Development, Mix FT, Satria Veteran and Kilugus FC make up Group A while the Royal Brunei Police Force Sports Council (MS PDB), defending champions XN FT, Jerudong FC, Menengah FC and Mangalela FC are drawn in Group B.
Group C is made up of Manggis FC, RB FC Veteran, BSRC Veteran, Miisa Utd and PBDB Veteran.
Pondok 12, Riwayat FC, Kasuka FC, Besa FC and Media FC are in Group D while Rimba Star, Terraza FC, Najip J4F FT, BSRC Recon and I-Team completed Group E.
Group F constitutes Persatuan Sang Jati Dusun (PSJD), Old Stock, Stoneville, Astavilla FC and Akse Bersatu while Group F will see Setia Bakti, IKLS Veteran, Wasabi FC and MBS United fight for top honours.

Kick off for the tournament is slated for January 16.
XN FT won the title last year after defeating Al-Idrus FT 6-3 in the final back in June.
The first action for the VFA will be the 3rd Sumbangsih Cup this Sunday Cup which will see XN FT up against FA Cup holders Al-Idrus at the Hassanal Bolkiah Stadium of the Royal Brunei Police Force Headquarters in Gadong.
Both teams also met in the second edition of the Sumbangsih Cup with Al-Idrus emerging winners 2-1 at the Tutong Sports Complex.
Kick off is at 4pm.

The Brunei Times

Import search starts again

Yee Chun Leong

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

SOME 10 foreign players are expected to be on trial with DPMM FC over the next few days.
Last year’s Singapore League (S-League) runners-up held their first training session of 2015 on Monday, with two of the players present at the pitch at the Jerudong Mini Stadium – Liberian international defender Patrick Nyema Gerhardt and Congolese national team goalkeeper Barel Mouko (pic).

Seven more players took to the field yesterday, with the remaining player set to join the rest today.
Gerhardt plied his trade with Melbourne Heart in the A-League for the past three years before coming to try out in the Sultanate while Mouko was the backup goalkeeper at French Ligue 1 club Lille.
Speaking to The Brunei Times on Monday, Swiss-born Gerhardt said he is enjoying his time here and is hoping to put on a good show.
“It is a good club. People are friendly and very welcoming and the culture is also good,” said Gerhardt.
“I was talking to my agent and he said it would be a good stop to come play here. I wanted to play in Asia and he said it a good place to be. We will see what happens in the next few days,” he continued.
DPMMF FC are currently looking for three players to complete the five-player S-League import quota - the club retained Irish midfielder Joe Gamble and Bosnian defender Boris Raspudic from last season after surprisingly releasing top-scorer Rodrigo Tosi (Brazil), Irish forward Roy O’Donovan and Croatian midfielder Roberto Alviz.
Gamble said he is delighted to be back in the Sultanate and is expecting another great year for the team after 2014’s campaign also reaped the Singapore League Cup and a third-place finish in the Singapore Cup – the club’s best season to date.
“Although it was a fantastic season, we are disappointed really at the final outcome,” said Gamble.
“We could have won the league and had a good chance to win the Singapore Cup.
“We know that we can go the distance and the players here know that we are capable of winning the league.
“We will carry on where we left off as we had a good strong last three games to end the season,” continued Gamble.
The Irishman also felt that things are looking better to start off the New Year compared to last year.
“We are already at a good state coming into the first day of preseason. We are at a good standard compared to last year,” said Gamble.
“We were not able to train like this from day one (last year). I can say that we are 20-30 per cent better in terms of fitness and are mentally better prepared than last year,” he concluded.
REGISTRATION FOR UNDER-19 TRIALS
DPMM FC’s office will be open today for registration of players for Sunday’s Under-19 trials at Jerudong Mini Stadium.
The club announced late last year that they are searching for players around 17-18 years old to be the future of the team.
Registration will also begin at 7.30am at the Jerudong Mini Stadium on the day itself.
Registration is open to the first 200 players, with another trial next Sunday to be held if there are more interested players.
DPMM FC’s office is located at Suite 1, Level 1, Halimatul Sa'adiah Building in Gadong.

The Brunei Times

Kean setting the bar high

Yee Chun Leong

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

DPMM FC head coach Steve Kean wants to go one step further this year by winning the treble.
The Scotsman led the club to their best season to date last year in his first year in charge by finishing as runners-up in the Singapore League (S-League), champions in the Singapore League Cup and claiming third in Singapore Cup.
This year, though, the target is all three cups.
“My expectation is to have a better season than last,” said Kean yesterday ahead of the S-League season which is expected to kick-off in February.
“Last season was excellent for us as we were on top of league most of the time, but unfortunately the week which mattered the most, we didn’t win the game.
“Our first goal (this season) is to try to do better and win the S-League. We are proud to be the Singapore League Cup holders and we want to retain that.
“We are also looking to do better in FA Cup. We got into the semi-finals but we want to go to final and win it this year.
“There is no shame in setting our goals very high. We will build an even stronger side this year,” continued the former Blackburn Rovers manager in an interview with the media after DPMM FC’s first training session of the year at the Jerudong Mini Stadium.
Kean will be looking at shaping up a strong defensive unit again this season – something that was lacking in the later stages of last year’s campaign.
The team started off strongly last season by notching seven clean sheets in the first round of the S-League before things went downhill for them.
“Our aim is to concede fewer goals,” said Kean.
“We will always score goals, but too many times especially away from home, we had to score three or four goals to win a game.
“If we score one goal away, it should be enough to win.
“We have to start a process from the back to ensure we get more clean sheets.
“We have to be a team that is hard to score against, and it will be good platform to build the rest of the side,” continued Kean.
The team got over a month off from training at the pitch but they have been working hard at building up their physique at the Reebok Crossfit 673 gym in Jerudong.
“We have worked hard for the off-season,” said Kean.
“The lads have been going three sessions per week in the gym (and) they have come back strong, sharp and are refreshed.
“It was not a case where we were playing 11 vs 11. The boys got time away from this place and got gains in their body with gym sessions,” he added.
In terms of foreign players, DPMM FC will be looking at signing three other import players to fill up the five-import quota set out by the S-League.
They have retained the duo of Irish midfielder Joe Gamble and Bosnian defender Boris Raspudic from last season and Kean is expecting to find more quality imports to compliment the roster.
“We’ve got a spread across the board from goalkeepers to defenders and strikers as well as midfield players,” said Kean.
“For any club it is about looking at people and making sure they can strengthen the squad.
“If they are not any better than what we have, we will look elsewhere.
“Every year we try to keep it fresh.
“We are always looking forward and have to keep improving,” concluded the Scotsman.
The first event for the club will be the try outs for the setting up of their youth team (17-18 years old) this Sunday at the Jerudong Mini Stadium.
Registration begins at 7.30am.
DPMM FC will also looking at playing friendly matches in Thailand later this month.

The Brunei Times

MS ABDB champions

Yee Chun Leong

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Monday, January 5, 2015

THE Royal Brunei Armed Forces Sports Council (MS ABDB) successfully defended their DST FA Cup title after a 2-0 victory over Najip FC last night thanks to goals by second half substitutes Pvt Mohd Baharin Hamidon and Pvt Abd Azizi Ali Rahman.
MS ABDB came out the more aggressive of the two sides, but it was Najip who almost opened the scoring in the 16th minute at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas.
Abd Azim Abd Rahman delivered a cross from the left to an unmarked Haziman Hj Abd Halim inside the six-yard box, but the latter couldn’t keep his header on target.
Najip got another opportunity in the 31st minute after Noor Raimi Karim@Syahremy put Hamizan through on goal, but MS ABDB goalkeeper Pvt Mohd Tarmizi Hj Mat Johari cleared his line to gather the ball.
MS ABDB could have stolen one in the 38th minute after Pvt Mohd Tarmizi took a quick goalkick while Najip’s players were still retreating.
Sgt (A) Mohd Haizul Rani Metussin received it on the right and managed to get a shot off on the turn but just missed the target.
Pvt Mohd Nur Ikhmal Damit almost got on the scoresheet in the 49th minute after an attempt from 25 yards out curled just inches off the top right corner.
Another chance came for Najip in the 54th minute after a good ball over the top from midfield found Mohd Azri Zahari down the right but the latter was not able to beat Pvt Mohd Tarmizi at the near post.
MS ABDB sent on the duo of Pvt Mohd Baharin and Pvt Abd Azizi in the 68th minute, and it proved to be the difference.
The deadlock was broken in the 75th minute after the Najip backline failed to deal with a ball from the left.
It was flicked onto the path of Pvt Mohd Baharin to fire past Najip custodian Fardillah Hj Md Ali for the lead.
A bizzare moment occurred in the 83rd minute after the referee got in the way of a MS ABDB pass in midfield.
However, he continued play by completing the pass and almost resulted in another MS ABDB goal.
Najip went all out on the attack and it left their backline fragile.
Sgt (A) Mohd Haizul Rani could have taken a shot himself from the edge of the box but slid a good throughball to his right for Pvt Abd Azizi to bulge the net.
A member of DST’s board of directors, Abdul Lattif Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Setia Dato Paduka Hj Md Yusuf, presented the trophy, prizes and medals.
MS ABDB retained their champion’s trophy, won $5,000 and individual medals.
Najip, meanwhile, took home $3,000, a trophy and individual medals.

The Brunei Times

Najip FC march into final

Hadi Md Husain

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Set up title decider against MS ABDB
NAJIP FC took down Indera SC 2-1 to book their berth in the DST FA Cup final last night.
They will play defending champions the Royal Brunei Armed Forces Sports Council (MS ABDB) next Sunday.
MS ABDB secured their final spot after defeating QAF FC 3-1 on Tuesday.
This is Najip’s first experience in the final in the tournament, having first joined the competition in 2012.
Last night’s result was also a reversal of their previous meeting where Indera cruised to a 5-1 win on Sept 7 in the DST Super League.
Najip kicked off the match on the right foot, Mohd Azri Zahari putting the team ahead in the 12th minute after he pounced on Abd Azim Abd Rahman’s cross from the left at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas.
Azri almost doubled the lead five minutes later after he created space just outside the penalty box but his strike flew wide.
Indera’s Md Khairul Anwar Abd Rahim could have equalised in the 18th minute after he lobbed the ball over the goalkeeper from the edge of the box but his effort glided inches wide of the crossbar.
Najip were also impressive on the defensive end and managed to quell Indera’s relentless charge in search of an equaliser.
Indera would finally get their breakthrough in the 37th minute when Mohd Asri Hj Aspar eluded his defender to volley home the ball from close range.
It didn’t take long for Najip to respond; Muhd Hanif Hamir fired a screamer from the left in the final minute of the half to restore his team’s one-goal lead.
The second half saw both sides struggle to exert their dominance over the other. There were few attempts at goal and none seriously troubled the keepers.
The only true threat in the half was when Najip were awarded a spot kick in injury time after Noor Raimi Karim was brought down in the penalty area.
Raimi, however, squandered the opportunity as Indera’s goalkeeper managed to parry away his penalty kick to conclude the 2-1 score-line.
“It is a memorable moment for us because this will be our first time competing in the final,” said Najip’s coach Johari Hj Bungsu.
“The players displayed superb teamwork on the field and I am impressed with their fighting spirit during the match.
“As for the final against MS ABDB, we are still the underdogs given the opponent’s good record in the competition where they are the defending champion.
“What we can do is to keep this winning momentum and do our best against MS ABDB,” he said.
Indera coach Hj Omar HJ Md Jamil said that he was pleased with his team’s performance despite them failing to repeat making the final this year.
MS ABDB clinched the championship title after beating Indera 1-0 on Dec 10, 2012.
“The players gave their best performance and played well throughout the game,” he said.
“The only problem we had was that we were not clinical enough in front of the goal.”

The Brunei Times

Manager confident of Indera SC’s chances against Menglait tonight

Hadi Md Husain

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

INDERA SC manager Rosdin Hj Abd Aziz believes his team is strong enough to edge Menglait in the fourth round of the DST FA Cup 2014 tonight.
If they triumph against Menglait at the Balapan Track and Field of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex in Berakas, two-time DST Super League defending champions Indera will go into the quarter-finals along with Kilanas FC, the Royal Brunei Armed Forces Sports Council (MS ABDB), the Royal Brunei Police Force Sports Council (MS PDB), Wijaya FC and Najip FC.
“There are no major changes in our team’s line-up, so the players are already compatible playing together... I can say the team’s condition is great and we have a good chance to make it into the quarter-finals,” said Rosdin.
Even though they have never played against Menglait, the manager said that they will not underestimate or overlook their opponent’s capabilities.
“We are not really sure about their game play and what their players can do, but from what I have heard so far, they are a pretty strong team,” he said.
“However, I believe we have the upper-hand."
“Our team is strongly disciplined and has a lot of experience playing at national and international levels."
“Five players from our team - Abd Khair Hj Basri, Md Khairul Anwar Abd Rahim, Mohd Fathurrahman Nizam Md Jaya, Mohd Zulkhairy Razali and Muhd Nur Ikwan Othman - recently represented the country at the 8th BIMP-EAGA (Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area) Friendship Games in Labuan, and their experience there will further help our team,” he added of the team that lost out on a bronze medal to Sarawak last week.
If Indera beat Menglait, they will meet Wijaya FC in the quarters on Sunday at the Berakas Sports Complex.
Tonight’s other game will see Brunei Shell Recreation Club (BSRC) meet QAF FC at the Berakas Sports Complex, with the winner to go up against MS PDB on Saturday in the quarter-finals at the Balapan Track and Field of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex.
Meanwhile, the Belait-based Liang Lumut Recreational Club (LLRC) will compete against Jerudong FC at the Berakas Sports Complex tomorrow, with the winner of the match to meet Najip FC in the quarters at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas on Sunday.
The other quarter-final match will see Kilanas FC will go up against MS ABDB tomorrow at the Balapan Track and Field of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex in Berakas.
The Brunei Times

AFC U23 Qualifiers - Brunei in Group H

The 2013 edition’s fourth-placed side Korea Republic have been pitted against hosts Indonesia, Timor-Leste and debutants Brunei Darussalam in Group H,

Group H

Korea Republic, Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Brunei Darussalam

Ten group winners and five best-second placed teams from all groups (total 15 teams) will qualify for the final competition where hosts Qatar await.

The qualifiers will be held from March 23 to 31, 2015 while the tournament proper will be played in January 2016.

http://www.the-afc.com/afc-u-23-championship-2016/holders-iraq-face-stern-test-in-afc-u-23-cship-qualifiers