DPMM FC head coach Vjeran
Simunic felt that luck
was not on his team's side
in their 5-2 loss to
Woodlands Wellington FC
at the Jalan Besar Stadium
in Singapore last night.
Picture: BT file
The National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD) Under-15 will hope to end their Football Association of Malaysia (FAM)-Frenz Under-15 ASEAN Champions Trophy losing streak as they host Frenz Malaysia B at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas tonight.
"This will be our last game playing at home, and we must do our best to win the game tomorrow (tonight)," said NFABD Under-15 manager Liew Chuan Fue in an interview with The Brunei Times yesterday.
"The preparation has been very good. We have played a number of matches now, and I expect the players to play better and to be more confident.
"We will be without our key player, defender Haimie Nyaring, tomorrow because of suspension. But I am very sure we will be able to cope," said Liew
Brunei lost to the Malaysian side 3-1 when both sides met at the Stadium Frenz Janda Baik in Pahang Malaysia last month.
Aiman Harith Farouk scored a double and Mohd Fareez also found the net for the Malaysian side, while, midfielder Muhd Nasy'rul Wafiy Hj Hassan scored the only goal for NFABD Under-15 in the loss.
"We expect a very tough game from the Malaysian team, they are quite physical and the strikers are very good in the air, so we need to defend very well," continued Liew.
"All the players need to work very hard and they must close down quickly to prevent the opponents from crossing the ball into the danger area," said the manager.
Frenz Indonesia currently top Group B with 16 points with Frenz Malaysia B following closely with 12 points.
Thailand Chonburi Academy lead Group A table with 13 points while Vietnam PVF Academy are second with 11 points.
Myanmar Mandalay Academy, Lao Toyota Academy and Philippines Global FC Under-15 Frenz Indonesia, Frenz Malaysia B and NFABD Under-15 are in Group B of the inaugural tournament.
Group A is made up of Frenz Malaysia A, Singapore NFA, Vietnam PVF Academy, Phnom Penh Crown Academy, Thailand Chonburi Academy and Timor Leste Under-15.
The tournament, which is the brainchild of the FAM Deputy President Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah and the Frenz United Football Academy of Pahang, Malaysia offers a grand prize US$50,000 to the champions, while, US$25,000 will go to the runners-up.
The top two of each group in the tournament will progress to the semi-finals, to be contested over two home and away legs.
The two legs of the grand finals are slated for August 24 and September 1.
