Brunei DPMM FC Defeat Pulau Pinang For 1st Win
By Dannie Abu B$srah

Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei DPMM FC claimed their first three points in the 2005/2006 Malaysian Premier League Group A campaign after they beat visitors Pulau Pinang NTFA 1-0 in a one-sider at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium last night.

Coach Ranko stuck to his usual '3-5-2 formation with a slight difference, Goran Vusanovic up front pairing with Antonio Lombardo Tosi while in the centre of midfield were skipper Rosmin Hj Md Kamis, Yusof Mohd Salleh and Ak Shahruddin Pg Hj Tajuddin.

Brunei DPMM FC kicked off but both teams soon found it hard to play their normal game, thanks to the wet condition of the pitch due to heavy rain that started an hour earlier and continued throughout the early minutes of the game.

However, despite the slippery condition, Brunei DPMM FC managed to launch the first attack of the game, a superb 8th-minute inswinger from a Rosmin corner forcing the Pulau Pinang goalie to punch the ball away.

Three minutes later, "I'osi had his powerful low slot well saved by the Pulau Pinang custodian.

Vusanovie had a go at the Pulau Pinang goal in the 18th minute, his tierce 25-yarder flying over the bar by just inches. The crowd sparked into life in the 31st minute though when Tosi thumped home a header off a Sairol Hj Sahri cross, his third goal in three consecutive matches.

Pulau Pinang had their best chance in the 42nd minute from a 25 yard strike by G Jeyaraman that flew over the bar, keeping Brunei DPMM FC 1-0 ahead going into the break.

Brunei DPMM FC started the second half determined to add to their lead as the rain began to cease.

The local boys were unfortunate as twice in the space of a few minutes, they saw their efforts bounding off the right post with the goalie well-beaten - Subhi with the first and Tosi the second in the 61st minute.

As the game crept towards the end, Brunei DPMM FC continued to push forward in numbers, launching a series of attacks in search of the elusive second goal.

But eventually, that one goal was enough to give Brunei DPMM FC their maiden win this season, and a lot more confidence going into their next game. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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