15 November 2011

SEA GAMES 2011: BRUNEI AVOIDED WOODEN SPOON TAG IN GROUP B

LEBAK BULUS (15 Nov 2011) – Brunei avoided the wooden spoon tag from Group B of the men’s football event this year when they played perhaps their best game to beat the Philippines 2-1 at the Lebak Bulus Stadium this evening.

The Sultanate side who were embarrassed 8-0 by Vietnam in their previous game were a lot more determined this time round and they certainly were a lot more aggressive.

For the Philippines they seemed a little out of sorts, no doubt perhaps due to their humiliating 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Myanmar. But that did not stop them from taking the lead on nine minutes when Joshua Beloya ran in from the left before unleashing a swerving shot to beat Awangku Omar Sallehuddin.

Brunei were quick to regroup and in the 17th minute, striker Adi Said prised open the Philippines defence where despite slipping from a cross from the right, he still managed to get up in time to shoot past two defenders to beat keeper Roland Muller at the far post.

The game then fell into a lull at the centre of the park as neither teams were able to push forward far enough in numbers. That was until with three minutes left of the first half.

Off an Adi free kick right at the edge of the Philippines box, defender Reduan Petara was quick to finish the rebound to give Brunei the lead for the first time in the game.

Brunei had a golden chance in the 55th minute to finish the game off but after picking up from a defensive lapse, the shot from Awangku Mohammad Hassan went totally off target.

The closest the Philippines came to nailing the equalizer in the second half was in the 75th minute through Jeffrey Christaens but his shot was ably blocked by Awangku Omar.

And this time round, there was no way back for the Philippines as they had done earlier against Laos as Brunei stood with everything they had to protect their lead all the way to the finish.


aseanfootball.org

10 comments:

  1. We can blame this disaster to the head coach. Sayang pinaghirap ng mga bata, most of the homegrown/fil-foreigner based in the philippines. Try-out(u-23 national suzuki cup) and Train more than 6 months, then ilalagay mo sa SEA Games yung mga taga europe na hindi naman nakita yung laro at hindi maka buo man lang ng chemistry. Naka demoralize ito sa homegrown talent! We can see potential sa home grown player, hindi lang nabigayan ng chance. Nagtataka din ako why players are not playing there natural position.

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  2. "Naka demoralize ito sa homegrown talent! We can see potential sa home grown player,"

    Demoralize? If anything it should make then hungrier to step up their game and to try to make the cut for 2013 (for those who are still eligible). If it doesn't then all the more it was right decision not to pick them because there would have been a sense of security in terms of them thinking they already have a spot in the squad.

    You can say they have potential, perhaps at least a few of them, but can you really say that they would've been better than the foreign born players for this edition of the SEA Games? For the most part you can't, be it for the ones that did get picked and even for those that didn't.

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  3. So do you suggest to use foreign born players and win or lose(not even training with the team)? or use the Philippine(homegrown/fil-foreigner) base player that will get an exposure win or lose?

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  4. Anonymous 7:59 you are a ridiculous idiot

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  5. Dear Anonymous, 7:59. Foreign born or not, they are Filipino citizens and have a legal and moral right to play for the Philippines if they are good enough. Being "exposed" can be very bad for a poor player. England, Holland, Germany, Japan, Portugal, all use foreign born players because they want to win. I want the team to win. I don't really care if a player who isn't good enough doesn't get "exposed".

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  6. one of the problems was they forgot to bring natural defenders(only 5?)... coach weiss should have brought natural cb defenders like unabia and barbaso...so that players like de jong and de murga can play their natural position at the middle.

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  7. We have good players - pure or half-blooded PINOYS. The problem is with the coach and management. May we learn from this experience.

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  8. Jonny,

    In your survey above, kindly include "Coach Weiss and PFF" as a choice. They both are to be blamed IMO.

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  9. we need locals, foreign born, and a white boy who is born and raised in the philippines. haha.

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  10. ^^and you think you're funny? get a life kid!

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