Written by: Dwayne James

Brunei DPMM coach Steve Kean was disappointed after his charges allowed the S.League title race to be opened up once again.

The Brunei side could have had one hand on the trophy with a victory, but instead lost 1-0 to contenders Tampines Rovers, who are now six points behind with two games in hand.

“I don’t think the chances that we had reflected the result. We are disappointed as it opens up the title race again,” said Kean.

“But I still wouldn’t swap the position we are in as we got the points on the board.

“When you look at the last two away games we came back with six points. We will have to do that again against Geylang (International FC) and the Warriors.

“On the balance of play especially in the first half we should have finished the game with three or four really good chances. We should be leading the game,” he added.

“We know what it is like against Tampines as they play for set plays and long throws… they will always be in the game.

“We are disappointed but we got no time to feel sorry for ourselves. We are still top of the table with a few games left and I’m sure that every team including Tampines would rather swap places with us,” continued the former Blackburn Rovers manager.

The Scotsman also felt that the tactics by the Stags to slow down the game whenever possible took its toll against his side.

“We were the team who wanted to play at a quick tempo but they were slowing the game down and making sure we couldn’t get rhythm in the game,” said Kean.

“We cannot over analyse that too much. Our form away from home has been excellent. We just got to go and win the next two games,” he added.

Despite the victory, his counterpart V. Sundramoorthy agree that Brunei DPMM FC are still in the better position.

“It is really tough to come to Brunei and win the game. The first 20 minutes they had a few shots and pressing us,” said Sundram.

“We then got into the game and in second half it was even. We were attacking and managed to get the win.

“DPMM FC is still in the driving seat with six points ahead. We will see as anything is possible. We have some tough games ahead and will do our best.”

The Tampines coach also commended Brazilian shotstopper Rodrigo Pacheco for coming up with some big saves down the stretch as well as second half substitute Ridhuan Muhamad for creating the winning goal.

“The boys fought very hard and the goalkeeper was outstanding. He is one of the reasons we managed to win,” said Sundram

“Ridhuan is a player with speed and can change the game. For a super sub we need players like him to put in the cross.

“He did what he was suppose to do and we won the game,” he concluded.