DPMM FC players Roy O'Donovan (R) is tripped by a Harimau Muda player during their S-League match on Friday at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas. Picture: BT/Saiful Omar
Harimau Muda B (Malaysia national under-21 football team) head coach Razip Ismail expressed relief when the final whistle was blown at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas on Friday night.
He watched his charges receive a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of the high-flying DPMM FC in their Singapore League (S-League) match.
It was their seventh straight defeat and they are rooted at the bottom of the 12-team table without a single point.
Facing a 3-0 deficit, they were down to 10 men in the 55th minute after Azrul Nizam Muhammad was shown a straight red by referee Sukhbir Singh for bringing Roy O'Donovan down just at the edge of the box.
Razip felt that things could have been much worse against the Brunei side.
"I thought we were lucky not to concede more goals," said Razip in a post-match interview.
"It was a difficult match against such good and tough opponents. It was even more difficult to play with 10 men.
"I'm not sure about the decision though. I felt it was too harsh for my player to receive it," he added.
The Harimau Muda B head coach also highlighted how their inexperience led to their downfall, considering that they are playing without a single import.
"Our team lacks experience and we were playing away. We played positively but couldn't keep up with the pace and made many mistakes," said Razup.
"We tried to play better in the second half until the red card happened," he added.
Asked what were the areas that needed to be worked on, Razip replied: "We need to improve on everything as we still haven't got a point.
"Our goal scoring record is also very poor with only three goals from seven matches and our defending is also not good (with 22 goals conceded so far).
"The team is 90 per cent new and we just need more time to play together," concluded the Malaysian.
DPMM FC took the lead in the third minute through Azwan Ali Rahman and their advantage was doubled in the 23rd minute with Sairol Hj Sahari firing home a left footed shot.
Marquee signing Roy O'Donovan was at the end of a Rosmin Hj Md Kamis freekick from their own half to make it 3-0 in the 36th minute.
Brazilian Rodrigo Tosi brought his tally to seven goals in his current campaign, rifling in the ensuing freekick after the Harimau Muda B red card.
O'Donovan then bagged a brace, with his sixth goal of the season, after chipping the ball over Harimau Muda B keeper Ilham Amirullah in the 71st minute to complete the rout.
DPMM FC are currently in first position with 15 points and their next match will be against Hougang United FC at the Hougang Stadium in Singapore on Wednesday.
