Written by: Zack Rahim
Steve Kean said that Brunei DPMM deserved to come out of their Great Eastern Yeo’s S.League stalemate with Geylang International with all three points.
Despite Geylang having most of the chances in the first half at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Bandar Seri Begawan, the hosts were on the front foot for most of the second half of their 0-0 draw and hit the woodwork three times.
DPMM – who lost their last three games – still lead the table, though with only a one-point advantage over Warriors FC and defending champions Tampines Rovers.
“I don’t think a draw was a fair result for us,” said DPMM coach Kean.
“I think a draw was a fair result at half-time, but I think we dominated the second half and deserved to get all three points.
“We moved Alviz (Roberto Alviz) from the outside into midfield and we hit the woodwork three times,” added the Scotsman.
The draw came on the back of three straight losses for Brunei’s most popular club, and although Kean was perhaps unsatisfied with the result, he still felt it was a step in the right direction.
Losses to Warriors, Home United and Tampines have severely eaten into DPMM’s lead, and the only reason DPMM still lead the league is because their other title contenders have dropped points over the past two weeks.
“Three games without a point… Now we are moving again and have gone a little way forward,” noted Kean.
“Hopefully we will start our next game (against Courts Young Lions on Wednesday) the same way we started the second half,” he added.
Geylang remain eighth after the result, and in his post-match comments,Jorg Steinebrunner insisted that the draw was no fluke.
Identifying DPMM’s main threats on attack, Geylang’s coach stressed that his men could not go on an all-out offensive no matter the odds – which is probably why they managed to thwart DPMM time and again when the hosts pushed forward in search of a goal.
“You need a game plan when playing DPMM – you can’t just attack,” said Steinebrunner.
“They have players like O’Donovan (Roy O’Donovan), Tosi (Rodrigo Tosi) and Alviz who know how to hurt you.
“We looked a bit shattered in the last 20 minutes but we still attacked.
“We came here not to sit back. We wanted to win this game.
“It was a very attractive game, and though it was 0-0, both teams had chances,” he added.