Official Website of Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council
NEWS & EVENTS
One last shot at elusive goal
Tuesday, December 17, 2013



As the final pieces of the puzzle came into place last night, Brunei were left scratching their heads and wondering how it all went wrong for them.

Singapore qualified for the last-four despite holding defending champions Malaysia to a 1-1 draw on Sunday, but all the headlines in Myanmar today will be about Indonesia's 1-0 win against the hosts, the result sending the hosts packing at their own tournament - but only because of goal difference.

The loss did not sit well with the home fans, evidently with the hacking of the official SEA Games website by the 'Blink Hacker Group' carrying the message "Today's football match's result brought us here".

Indonesia will join Thailand as the two teams to progress from Group B, while in Group A, today's clash between Malaysia and Vietnam will determine which team top the group and join Singapore in the next round.

Singapore will meet Thailand in Thursday's semi-final.

The Young Lions currently top Group A with eight points, but with Malaysia and Vietnam second and third on seven points and six points respectively, Singapore are sure to finish as runners-up no matter what the outcome of the tie.

Singapore also boast better goal differences among the three countries.

Brunei are currently the worst team in the competition after failing to notch a single point - Group B counterparts Cambodia held Thailand to a goalless draw last night - anad only have pride to play for when they face Laos in their last game of the Games.

Hopes of a last-four finish were dashed when they lost 2-0 to Singapore on Friday, the result their third loss at the Zeyar Thiri Football Stadium.

They started off with a 7-0 loss to Vietnam and followed that up with a 2-0 defeat to Malaysia, meaning they have yet to find the back of the net in Myanmar.

Though their last outing in 2011 also saw the team fail to reach the last-four, at least they were able to convert their chances - something this team has been guilty of time and again.

Though they went down 2-0 to Malaysia and Singapore, both teams found it hard to get past a sturdy Brunei defence - with media from both countries going on to praise Kwon Oh ason's men after the games.

The "spirit and confidence" which team manger Hj Feisal Hj Eusoff talked about before the tournament started, though visible, has not been enough to carry the team through - and they will have to score a goal against Laos today if they are to salvage anything from this event.

Laos are no pushovers though, having held Singapore to a creditable 1-1 draw in both team's first games of the tournament.

Laos forced the 88th minute stalemate despite playing one man down since the second minute, but results since then have not been as positive.

They went down 4-1 to Malaysia and were thrashed 5-0 by Vietnam, so they aren't exactly a team high on confidaence at the moment.

Perhaps Brunei can take some solace in the fact that the last time they were in this situation at the 2011 Games, they were able to produce - the 2-1 win over the Philippines their only win in Indonesia.

The stakes are smaller today though - a goal will suffice.

Courtesy from Brunei Times