Brunei DPMM dodge Balestier bullet to seal Singapore Cup final spot

It’s official. The final of the Singapore Cup will see two foreign teams compete for the trophy but it could have all been so different had Brunei DPMM FC not regain their composure after throwing away their two goal advantage from the first leg.

It must be said that The Wasps started the match poorly and it was absolutely normal for Coach Rene Weber to be absolutely livid with his players. They simply looked disjointed in the first half as Balestier enjoyed the lion’s share of possession.

Marko Kraljević’s charges bossed the first half as they kept on creating chance after chance. Their efforts finally paid off as they earned a penalty due to clumsy defending by their opponents. Up stepped The Tigers’ star man Hazzuwan Halim and the midfield maestro made no mistake from the spot kick as he coolly dispatched the ball.

Balestier kept up their attacking forays and three minutes before the first half ended, Huzaifah Aziz popped up with the second goal to ensure, the Bruneians’ two-goal advantage was lost. But then again football is a game of two halves and while Balestier entered half-time on top, they would soon find themselves at the bottom.

Conversely, whatever coach Weber said to his players during the break must’ve worked because his team were worlds apart from their torrid display in the first half. The Bruneians looked like a different outfit in the second half as they began to assert their authority on the game.

DPMM’s pressure would finally break Balestier’s backline in the 79th minute with Shahrazen Said stabbing the ball in after Brian McLean’s header came off the crossbar. And when Balestier’s defenders failed to deal with a high ball barely three minutes later, DPMM’s Volodymyr Priyomov had the easiest of tasks shooting into the empty net to restore his side’s two goal cushion.

DPMM will take on Singapore Premier League champions Albirex Niigata in the cup final on Saturday after Albirex dispatched Home United to win the other semi-final tie 4-2 on aggregate, while Balestier will take on Home in the third/fourth placing match earlier on the same day.