LLRC FT WIN 6-SIDED INVITATIONAL

Dato Paduka Hj Mohd Hamid bin Hj Mohd Jaafar, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, 
Youth and Sports presenting the Champion’s Trophy and prize money to LLRC FT team manager and captain

LLRC FT in a group photo with the Champion’s Trophy. – PHOTOS: KHAIRIL HASSAN

BY JAKE TEN 

LLRC FT edged out Indera SC 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in regulation time to win the 6-sided Invitational Football Tournament.

A dominating performance from Indera SC lacked a cutting edge, with the inaugural DST Super League winners forced to recover from Mohd Helmie Noorazmi’s first half header through Reduan bin Hj Petara’s 65th minute strike.

Their lack of conviction proved fatal in the ensuing penalty shoot-out as they missed two penalties as LLRC FT celebrated a hard-fought victory.

The team from Kuala Belait took the lead in the 7th minute, when Mohd Helmie Noorazmi headed home from close range. They remained in control for the rest of the half, but a reshuffle from Indera SC would pay dividends in the second period.

Md Khairul Anwar bin Abd Rahman managed to squeeze a ball through to Reduan, who picked out the bottom right-hand corner with an accurate strike in the 65th minute.

It was one-way traffic from then on, Ak Sahruddin Pg Hj Tejuddin saw his header cleared off the line, whilst Mohd Khayrun bin Salleh wasn’t enjoying the best of luck either.

The Indera SC player saw two of his efforts denied by the woodwork, the first, a venomous strike which struck the outside of the post, and the second, a well-taken free-kick which cannoned off the top of the crossbar.

Muhammad Abu Bakar Mahari thought he had snatched the victory for Indera SC at the death, but his close-range header was tipped onto the crossbar by LLRC FT goalkeeper Md Fakhrul Amin Sanif.

With the scores level at the end of the 90 minutes, the game went straight into a penalty shootout.

Indera SC’s first penalty was saved well by Md Fakhrul, who saw his teammate blaze wide with LLRC FT’s immediate penalty.

Both sides converted their second penalties, but Indera SC’s miss on the third attempt would prove costly, as all of LLRC FT’s remain spot-kick takers took their chances well.

LLRC FT fought off competition from Royal Brunei Police Force Sports Council (MS PDB) and the Under-19 national team to top Group B, whilst Indera SC came away with maximum points in their games with the Royal Brunei Armed Forces Sports Council (MS ABDB) and the U-23 SEA Games team to earn their place in the final.

The inaugural tournament’s main purpose was to provide both the national Under-23 and Under-19 teams with match experience ahead of future regional tournaments, however, both teams failed to progress into the final round of the tournament.

Guest of honour, Dato Paduka Haji Abdul Hamid bin Haji Mohd Jaafar, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, presented the winners with their prizes.