INDERA TO TAKE ON ABDB IN FINAL
BY JAKE TEN
Indera SC will be taking on MS ABDB in the final after beating MS PDB 5-3 on penalties in the second semifinal of the DST FA Cup at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium after it ended 2-2 in regulation time.
Indera SC were the quickest out of the gates, racing to a two-goal lead in the first five minutes after Hamizan Aziz netted the fastest goal of the tournament, coming in just under a minute, and Mohammad Khayrun latching onto a through ball, before dispatching his effort with ease just three minutes later.
PC 5609 Mohd Zulkhairie's solo run, which ended with a vicious strike from outside the box, restored some hope to MS PDB in the 15th minute and the scores would be level come the half-time break.
MPC 5701 Mohd Faizizzul was picked out by a team mate with a defence-splitting pass, before side-stepping an Indera SC defender and lashing an unstoppable effort past Ak Omar Nur Aqammadin in the Indera SC goal with 33 minutes played.
The two local giants, both of whom will be competing in the first season of the DST Super League, which kicks-off on Dec 14, played out a goalless second half, but it could easily be said that either team had the chances to win it, but neither showed the composure nor bravery to convert those chances.
As extra time beckoned, it appeared as if MS PDB would have the upper-hand in terms of fitness, but Indera SC dug deep and had their opponents with their backs against the walls, with countless corners and free-kicks, which eventually amounted to nothing.
Azwan Ali Rahman was the first to take the long and lonely walk to the penalty spot, and the young midfielder showed the guile and poise of a seasoned veteran, stuttering just before striking the ball, forcing the jittering L/Cpl 4673 Md Khairol Amin to take an early dive, before rolling the ball into the empty net.
Ak Omar Nur Aqammadin's ensuing save proved crucial, as all of the remaining penalty takers found the back of the net, meaning Sahrin bin Momin's penalty ended the tie altogether, with Indera SC clinching a 5-3 shootout win.
Saying team manager Rosdin Hj bin Abd Aziz was relieved after the win would be an understatement, and after wiping away his sweats of anxiety, he admitted that luck had played a big part in his side's victory.
"We had a bit of luck, winning it on penalties," he said.
"We scored two goals, and should have protected our lead, but we made mistakes, and allowed MS PDB to score two goals themselves. That really made our confidence go down," added Rosdin.
"We tried to get our confidence back up for the second half, and even though we controlled the game, we wasted a lot of chances to win the game."
"We were a bit worried when it went to penalties, as only three of our players really wanted to take penalties. But we won, and it's our first time winning on penalties in the FA Cup."
Rosdin, like majority of those involved with the local football scene, tipped MS ABDB as the favourites for Monday night's final, but did not rule out his side upsetting the team which finished second best to Indera SC in the final of the Red Bull NFABD Futsal Champions League 2012 just two months ago.
"MS ABDB are favourites. Their fitness levels are higher and they have better training facilities. But who knows in the final, anyone can win. We will try to follow in the footsteps of our Futsal team and become champions. We will do our best to challenge them over the 90 minutes."
