Last Saturday afternoon, BruManch had participated in the 5-a-side University's International Tournament which we would like to call the 'World Cup'. BruManch represented Brunei in the tournament of 32 teams in 8 groups where Brunei were drawn in a group with Pakistan, Japan and Mexico.
In the group stages, Saudi Arabia was immense as they did not concede a single goal but scored at will. So this game was going to be tough. The game started off with Brunei going into defense and never looked to attack in the game. The defense took care of their fast and agile strikers but eventually, a Brunei defensive mistake lead to an own goal half way through the game. After the goal, Saudi Arabia continued to attack and scored 2 more goals to kill the game off. Brunei changed their defensive tactic to a more offensive approach with a late substitute. Brunei started to attack with fresh legs on the pitch and 5 minutes before the game ended, Brunei scored a goal to make it 3 -1. Even if there is hope, a 2 goal deficit against a team which hardly concede is a huge task. Nevertheless, Brunei continued to threaten the Saudi goalkeeper. An amazing play lead to Brunei's second goal and this caused panic in the Saudi camp. Brunei's offensive approach was a double-edged sword, the defense was in disarray. Saudi had many chance to score a fourth goal but thanks to yet another superb goalkeeping from the Brunei keeper, the game was still alive. With the crowd roaring behind the Brunei team, a last minute equaliser was inevitable. The equaliser came from the right wing and the Brunei team's adrenaline was sky high! Brunei was going for the winner now!
However, in the dying seconds, Saudi Arabia got the ball and attacked from the left flank. The left winger shot towards the keeper and the ball bounced off, going upwards for a Saudi striker to head into an open goal but the Brunei keeper yet makes another stunning save. The ball bounced off going upwards again for the second time, but this time an unmarked right winger scored with a header and finished the game. Saudi Arabia beat Brunei in the Quarterfinals.
Group Stage : Brunei vs Pakistan
Brunei's (BruManch) first game was against Pakistan. The game started off brightly but Brunei was immediately thrown into the defensive end. However, the first goal came from Brunei's swift counter attack from defense. It was a good start for Brunei taking the early lead but the team conceded two goals in a space of 5 minutes to Pakistan. BruManch's 'never say die' attitude responded in an aggressive manner and hit Pakistan back with two goals! Pakistan tried to go for the equaliser in the last few minutes but thanks to some brilliant goalkeeping, Brunei took its first game to victory.Group Stage : Brunei vs Japan
Japan was the next opponent in the tournament. Having beaten Japan in a friendly match one week ago with a juggernaught scoreline (16 - 2), the players were in a vicious mood to score in this game. Ironically, Brunei found themselves 2 nil down in the first 5 minutes after some brilliant individual performances from the Japanese striker. Little did they know, Brunei was never going to sit back and lose the game without a fight. Brunei changed the strategy with a substitution that made the game more aggressive. The tactic paid dividends after Brunei scored 3 goals against a struggling Japanese keeper with 3 minutes to go. With the sight of yet another comeback victory, Brunei became rather complacent and the Japanese scored a late equaliser to make the game 3 all.Group Stage : Brunei vs Mexico
The last group game was against Mexico. It was a must win game for Brunei, and if it was a draw - Pakistan goes through. Before the match, sources amongst the crowd heard the Pakistan players discussing about the Brunei team and concluded that Brunei had no chance of winning, thus stirring up the Brunei players. The game started off with the Mexicans controlling the game. As always, the Brunei's tight defence held up the pressure. Eventually, Brunei took control of the game and finished off a good move with a clinical finish up front. The lead took off abit of pressure and Brunei's second came soon after from an accurate quick free kick. The game was going towards a Brunei victory until the Mexicans scored a goal to give them hope. The game was frantic to the last minute but Brunei secured a victory and proceeded to the quarterfinals.Quaterfinals : Brunei Vs Saudi Arabia
In the group stages, Saudi Arabia was immense as they did not concede a single goal but scored at will. So this game was going to be tough. The game started off with Brunei going into defense and never looked to attack in the game. The defense took care of their fast and agile strikers but eventually, a Brunei defensive mistake lead to an own goal half way through the game. After the goal, Saudi Arabia continued to attack and scored 2 more goals to kill the game off. Brunei changed their defensive tactic to a more offensive approach with a late substitute. Brunei started to attack with fresh legs on the pitch and 5 minutes before the game ended, Brunei scored a goal to make it 3 -1. Even if there is hope, a 2 goal deficit against a team which hardly concede is a huge task. Nevertheless, Brunei continued to threaten the Saudi goalkeeper. An amazing play lead to Brunei's second goal and this caused panic in the Saudi camp. Brunei's offensive approach was a double-edged sword, the defense was in disarray. Saudi had many chance to score a fourth goal but thanks to yet another superb goalkeeping from the Brunei keeper, the game was still alive. With the crowd roaring behind the Brunei team, a last minute equaliser was inevitable. The equaliser came from the right wing and the Brunei team's adrenaline was sky high! Brunei was going for the winner now!
However, in the dying seconds, Saudi Arabia got the ball and attacked from the left flank. The left winger shot towards the keeper and the ball bounced off, going upwards for a Saudi striker to head into an open goal but the Brunei keeper yet makes another stunning save. The ball bounced off going upwards again for the second time, but this time an unmarked right winger scored with a header and finished the game. Saudi Arabia beat Brunei in the Quarterfinals.
The Players
Azrul - GK
Dzul - MF
Zainal - MF
Diwas - FW
Din - FW
Azrul - GK
Zukri - DF
Shafie - DFDzul - MF
Zainal - MF
Diwas - FW
Din - FW
Final Words
The tournament was a good practice for BruManch players for the upcoming Nottingham games this weekend. The tournament showed the characters of the BruManch players to come back from a goal down or even 3 goals down. So never lose hope when losing in a game!
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