Brunei Cling On In 'Tight' Group A
By Dannie Abu Basrah

Bandar Seri Begawan - With 12 points at stake and four more games to go before the end of the season in Group A of 2005 Malaysian Premier League, things are looking tight for the three teams, Selangor, Kedah and MK Land, at the top of the table.

Already in a runaway league of their own, a distance of ten points from 4th place Kuala Lumpur, the only serious battle for the top three teams at the moment is the fight for second spot between Kedah (2nd) and MK Land (3rd) who are still keeping up their pressure on Kedah with a slim 1-0 home win at the weekend against Pulau Pinang NTFA with Miroslav Toth scoring the only goal of the game.

Finishing in the top two of the Malaysian Premier League will ensure promotion to the Super League next season, while finishing in the top four will enable the teams to compete in the 2005 Malaysian Cup.

Meanwhile, Brunei kept their hopes of finishing in fourth place alive with a 4-1 hammering of Melaka at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium as they bounced back from the 6-1 away defeat by MK Land with a double strike from Fadlin Galawat and a goal each from Hj Md Subhi Abdillah Bakir and Rosmin Hj Kamis. Faderin Kadir scored Melaka's only goal.

The win gives new hope for the Brunei team as the gap was reduced to 5 points after Kuala Lumpur lost their game 3-1 away to Selangor with Bambang Pamungkas (3011 minute), Brian Fuentes (42nd) and Mohd ShukorAdan (511) hitting the target for the home team as Zamri Hassan (59th) netted Kuala Lumpur's consolation goal.

As for the game at the Darul Aman Stadium in Alor Setar, Kedah whipped Kelantan TNB 4-0 scoring all four goals in the second half of the match through Gabriel Mendez (50th & 5311 minute), Liew Kit Kong (73rd) and Zamzuri Mat Isa (8411) to keep pace with league leaders Selangor.

In the next fixture this Sunday, Brunei will travel to the Sultan Mohd IV Stadium in Kota Bharu to face Kelantan TNB, while Kuala Lumpur entertain high-flying Kedah at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium. Melaka will host Selangor MK Land at the Hang Tuah Stadium while Pulau Pinang NTFA host league leaders Selangor at the Batu Kawan Country Stadium. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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