A late goal from Adi Said three minutes from time salvaged a point for the visitors 

Ikhsan Fandi chasing down a ball. He was rewarded with a stunning goal against Brunei DPMM FC.

SINGAPORE, 23 MAY 2018 – The Young Lions and Brunei DPMM FC had to settle for a 1-1 draw in the Great Eastern-Hyundai Singapore Premier League (SPL) at Jalan Besar Stadium on Wednesday night.

Ikhsan Fandi opened the scoring with a superb half-volley in the 66th minute but a late goal by Adi Said salvaged a point for DPMM.

The hosts were under heavy pressure from the start and were content to let the visitors see most of the ball, as they packed their half and relied on counter-attacks.

But despite dominating possession, DPMM barely had a sniff at goal and relied on shots from distance.

A well-worked move in the sixth minute could have paid off had Shah Razen Said hit the ball with more venom, but instead he scuffed it into the grateful arms of Zharfan Rohaizad.

Azwan Ali came close next in the 23rd minute, as he ran onto Volodymyr Priyomov’s lay-off and had a go from 18 yards out but a sprawling Zharfan was able to deny him.

A rare Young Lions foray forward saw Ikhsan deliver a good cross into the box but Naufal Azman was just inches away from connecting at point-blank range.

A hopeful volley by Adi then flew over the bar just two minutes before the half concluded, sending both teams into the dressing room level as a light drizzle started up.

In the second half, the Young Lions showed more attacking intent and substitute Haiqal Pashia somehow found the wrong side of the post despite having the goal at his mercy after DPMM failed to clear their lines.

They could have paid for that miss in the 50th minute, when Priyomov found himself with the ball at close range and went for goal but Zharfan produced a sublime save to thwart him.

Five minutes after the hour mark, Shah Razen Said failed to make his header count after a good delivery by Azwan to steer the ball towards the near post.

The opener finally arrived in the 66th minute. Ikhsan caught DPMM napping and stole the ball before unleashing a thunderbolt from distance for his second goal in as many games.

Clearly in confident mood, the forward went for goal again from outside the box in the 75th minute and was unlucky to see his low drive flash past the post.

The last ten minutes saw DPMM piling the pressure on as Zharfan pulled off another good save to deny Shah Razen while Azwan Saleh’s shot was deflected just wide.

Their efforts finally paid off in the 87th minute when Shafie Efenddy was given plenty of space on the right and he picked out Adi, who finished off from close range.

There was still time for a winner, but Irfan Fandi failed to get his close-range header on target following Haiqal’s corner in injury time.

Both teams have only two days to recuperate before playing again on Saturday, 26 May as the Young Lions face Warriors FC at Jalan Besar Stadium while DPMM face Home United FC at Bishan Stadium.

WHAT THEY SAID
Young Lions Head Coach Fandi Ahmad: “We could have won in the last five minutes, [the boys] worked really hard, but DPMM is a good footballing team. We closed down a lot of their players and they worked very hard… Our discipline and compactness kept us in the game. You can see the difference, comparing the experience of the DPMM team, but our players were very determined to get that result tonight.”

DPMM Head Coach Rene Weber: “A draw is one point but I am not happy about the result because we could have won this game. We must improve the team; they must be there to face different kind of solutions. I am sad as we could win this game, not because the opponents don’t deserve it, they are strong. I have no complaints about my team but we must play more football.”

Young Lions: Zharfan Rohaizad (GK), Aniq Iskandar (Haiqal Pashia 46’), Irfan Fandi, Taufiq Muqminin (C), Adam Hakeem, Joshua Pereira, Syahrul Sazali (Prakash Raj 90’+4), Hami Syahin, Rusyaidi Salime, Ikhsan Fandi, Naufal Azman (Asshukrie Wahid 85’).
Unused subs: Hairul Syirhan (GK), Nazhiim Harman, Syed Firdaus Hassan, Ifwat Ismail.

DPMM: Haimie Nyaring (GK), Brian McLean, Azwan Saleh, Azwan Ali (Abdul Azizi Rahman 70’), Hendra Azam (Shafie Efenddy 77’), Volodymyr Priyomov, Suhaimi Sulau, Helmi Zembin, Adi Said, Abdul Aziz Tamit, Shah Razen Said (C).
Unused subs: Wardun Yussof, Reduan Petara, Najib Tarif, Nurikhwan Othman, Hanif Hamir.

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