Bandar Seri Begawan: Timor-Leste will take a slender lead
into the second leg of the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup™ 2024 qualification
round against Brunei Darussalam after securing a hard-fought 1-0 victory in the first leg on Tuesday.
Following a goalless first half at Hassanal Bolkiah National
Stadium, it was Timor-Leste who broke the deadlock shortly after the restart
through captain Paulo Gali.
Brunei pushed hard for the equliser but were unable to find a way through to mean Timor-Leste will begin next week's return meeting in Thailand in the driving seat to progress to the group stage of the Mitsubishi Electric Cup.
Having qualified for the 2022 Mitsubishi Electric Cup,
Brunei began the match aiming to return for the second successive edition and
third overall, while Timor-Leste’s target is to advance to the regional
showpiece for a fourth time and first since 2020.
Hosts Brunei went into the game on an impressive five-match
winning run, but it was the Timorese who had the first real sight on goal when Claudio
Osorio broke forward before feeding Zenivio Mota, whose shot from just inside
the left side of the penalty area forced goalkeeper Haimie Nyaring to push to safety.
As the game started to open up, James McAllister’s Brunei threatened next when dangerman Hakeme Yazid Said skipped past the Timor-Leste defence, running half the length of the pitch before his low effort towards the bottom corner was brilliantly saved by Junildo Pereira in the Timorese goal.
Timor-Leste's Gali was next to try his luck after he danced
into the box from the right before drilling an effort straight at Nyaring, and
when the ball eventually fell to Osorio, he fired well over.
Hariz Danial Khallidden’s blistering strike called Junildo
into action once more as Brunei sought to break the deadlock with the interval
approaching and Hakeme shot wide from a narrow angle on the stroke of half-time
as the sides went in all square.
Simon Elissetche’s Timor-Leste opened the scoring a minute into the second half when Gali robbed Najib Tarif of possession on the right side before breaking into the box and, from the tightest of angles, rifled the ball into the roof of Nyaring’s net.
Hakeme’s inswinging corner from the left then hit the far post as
Brunei looked for an immediate response before the Timor-Leste defence managed
to scramble the ball to safety as they clung on to their lead.
The home side had a golden opportunity to level proceedings
midway through the second half when Nazry Aiman’s cross from the right was
completely misjudged by Junildo, only for the unmarked Brunei skipper Azwan Ali
Rahman to head over at the back post.
Brunei dominated the final 20 minutes as Timor-Leste sat
back to defend their lead, and Abdul Hariz’s free-kick in the sixth minute of
added time had Junildo scrambling before flying just wide, as the visitors held
on to claim the 1-0 win.
The sides will meet again for the return meeting on October
15 in Chonburi, Thailand with the winner to seal the 10th and final place at
the 2024 ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup™.
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