Steady is fast

The linesman must have picked some poses from Ronaldo

The first loss has been forgotten. Last night, Brunei bagged another impressive win against Singapore 3-1. That makes it two impressive wins in a row. Previously they have beaten Indonesia with the same score line. The two wins combined with the first loss (to Cambodia) have put Brunei Darussalam U-21 in a potential semi-final berth. They will have to gain maximum points against Vietnam (Friday) and Malaysia (Monday) to make the top two in the Group B.

It was a heavy downpour and I was surprised that the match went as scheduled. Normally in this kind of weather, the match commissioner will safe approach to delay the match slightly until the pitch condition is playable. Of course, the rain made it more interesting and with the challenge of the rain, it could be anybody’s game. It’s how you go through that challenges will make you a stronger team.

Brunei U-21 team wasted no chance as they scored in the first minute of the match after some clumsy defending by the Singaporean U-21 team. Yes, Adi Said has been the focal point of the first two matches. However, this match belonged to his team mate Abdul Azim Abdul Rashid scored in the first minute and also in the 68th minute. Adi Said also earned his place in the score sheet as he crafted another wonderful goal late in the first half. He had plenty of chances but it was his finishing that led him down.

Brunei could have put the game beyond doubt if they had taken their chances on the spot. Singapore had a great opportunities and it would have made a difference if they had scored first.

The result means that Brunei will need to beat Vietnam and Malaysia and hope other results will go their way.

This was my first HBT football coverage and sadly, I won’t be able to watch the semis and the finals as I will be outstation once again.

Brunei will take on Vietnam this Friday at 8:15 (kick-off) at the Hassanal Bolkiah Stadium. The host nation will look into getting full points of Vietnam. This will be a tough match and it could be anybody’ game right now. Good luck, Brunei U-21 team.

The match steward braving the rain and also making sure that there won’t be any friction or riot especially emotional driven matches

It was such a turn out despite the heavy rain. Awesome!!

Can you imagine being soaked and drenched under the rain?

Fans will be fans and they are pretty sporting

The rain didn’t dampen their spirt after all

The hero of the night – Azim Rashid

Rain or shine, they made sure of their consideration

It’s never easy to take photos under the rain. My hats off to you guys out there.

Poor, Dean Kassim. His Canon EOS 5D Mark III couldn’t function and it must have been due to the train

The manager and head coach were in humour mode despite the loss

The management of Brunei U-21 was impressed with the outing last night and team manager was in high confidence and he hopes for more points in the next two matches