SINGAPORE (19 July 2012) – Brunei’s only professional club is in a slump. Following the departure of Brazilian striker Rodrigo Gral two months ago, the team conceded their third defeat in a row in the S-League where this week, the fell to a 2-0 loss to Albirex Niigata at the Jurong East Stadium.
Yasuhiro Yamakoshi was on the double with goals in the 33rd and 85th minute as Albirex moved to the top of the table while DPMM fell down to fourth.
“This is what we’ve been afraid of since before, this tough schedule,” said Vjeran Simunic, the chief coach of DPMM FC. “I expected a game like this. Now Albirex are on top and maybe they can be the new champions.
“(Captain) Rosmin Kamis was close to scoring an equaliser in the second half but the goalkeeper pulled off a fantastic save. It could have been a draw but we conceded a second goal and when you lose 2-0 you can’t say much. The only mistake we did in the first half and it led to the goal.
“We pushed like usual and attacked them in the second half. We held them inside their box. But then they went on a counter-attack and scored the second.”
CURRENT S-LEAGUE 2012 STANDINGS
No Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Albirex Niigata (S)
16 10 3 3 27 16 +11 33
2 Tampines Rovers
15 10 2 3 31 14 +17 32
3 Home United
16 9 3 4 35 22 +13 30
4 Brunei DPMM
15 9 2 4 30 16 +14 29
5 Harimau Muda
13 8 2 3 23 12 +11 26
6 Singapore Armed Forces
15 7 3 5 29 24 +5 24
7 Balestier Khalsa
16 7 3 6 15 17 −2 24
8 Hougang United
16 6 2 8 21 22 −1 20
9 Gombak United
15 4 4 7 13 16 −3 16
10 Young Lions
14 4 2 8 18 22 −4 14
11 Tanjong Pagar United
16 4 2 10 10 29 −19 14
12 Woodlands Wellington
16 2 3 11 11 30 −19 9
13 Geylang United
15 2 3 10 16 39 −23 9
