The national side showcased their best performance as they merely lost 4-3 to Bahrin last night at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Futsal Under-20 Championship, which was held in Bangkok, Thailand.

It was the first time the youngsters managed to put more than 2 goals behind the post after their first match defeat against Afghanistan 14-1, followed by 6-1 to Iraq and 10-0 to the hosting nation Thailand.

The team pressed higher up the court and moved the ball around well after winning back possession, enjoying more time on the ball and several spells of sustained pressure in the second half - when they twice came back from two-goal deficits.

Despite showing more threat on attack, Brunei were once again guilty of missing golden opportunities to score and could have won the game had the national players been sharper in front of goal.

“There were some positive changes in this game,” said national futsal coach Qusmaini Noor Hj Rusli in a press release from NFABD.

He also added that the players a lot braver tonight and fight the ball a lot than their previous 3 matches.

“They missed many open chances and I hope they will come up with a better quality performance in our last game tomorrow (against Malaysia),” continued the national coach.

The Sultanate trailed as early as the second minute after Ali Husain netted from a counter-attack.

The game was level courtesy of Abdul Azim Boll Hassan in the 11th minute but Bahrain responded the next minute with Sadeq Ahmad unleashing a powerful shot to find the back of the net.

Brunei faced a two-goal deficit conceding in the first minute after the interval with Ebrahim Aldoseri getting his name on the scoresheet.

The national side pulled back to 3-2 in the 27th minute after Muhammad Abdul Khaaliq Hj Lazim scored off a counter-attack.

Ali netted his second of the match with a thunderous long range effort in the 35th minute after the national side failed to defend against the Bahrainian.

Qusmaini then sent on an outfield player in place of goalkeeper Ak Muhammad Asadullah Shafee to put an extra man on the ball.

The sudden change of tactics paid off as Abdul Azim stole the ball and squared it to Nazirul Haziq Adeni to score three minutes before the final buzzer, and if not for their numerous missed opportunities, Brunei could have been celebrating their first win of the tournament.

The day’s other games saw hosts Thailand beat Afghanistan 8-1 and Iraq beat Malaysia 4-2.

Thailand and Iraq have won all four of their Group A games and will progress into the quarter-finals as the top two teams in the group.

Brunei will complete their campaign with a meeting against Malaysia today.

Source:
@BRUDIRECT.COM

by Brudirect.com

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