DPMM FC's Azwan Ali Rahman (L) vies for the ball with a Geylang International FC player in their S-League game last Saturday. Azwan scored the winner in DPMM FC's 3-2 victory over Young Lions at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore last night to secure the team's first win in five games. BT/Ridhwan Kamarulzaman
Azwan Ali Rahman was the hero for DPMM FC last night after scoring a late winner against the Young Lions in their 3-2 Singapore League (S-League) victory.
According to the official S-League facebook page, the 22-year-old unleashed a powerful strike in the 92nd minute to beat Young Lions custodian Rudy Khairullah at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore - the result against the Singapore national Under-23 team earning the visitors their first win in five S-League games.
The win also helps extend DPMM FC's lead atop the 12-team standings to four points over Warriors FC and three-time defending champions Tampines Rovers FC. "It was an unbelievable goal for me," said Azwan in an interview with The Brunei Times. "We deserved to win tonight (Wednesday night) and now we are back on track.
"Most important for us tonight is that we gained all three points," continued Azwan, whose goal was his fifth of the season. The visitors started out on the wrong foot after Sairol Hj Sahari put the ball in his own net in the seventh minute. DPMM FC almost responded three minutes later but the goal was flagged off for offside.
Croatian Roberto Alviz levelled the match after finding the back of the net in the 26th minute and Brunei's only professional team took the lead through Rodrigo Tosi after he headed home his 15th goal of the season in the 37th minute.
Young Lions equallised after a long distance strike from outside the box by captain Sahil Suhaimi in the 86th minute and both teams looked to be headed for a point before Azwan's late drama in injury time.
Stand-in captain Hj Mohd Subhi Abdillah Hj Bakir felt that they deserved the win after what was a tightly contested match. "We deserved all three points after a hard fought game. It was a tight second half as expected with the home team pressing us with a goal down," said Subhi.
"But overall the performance was good and it is great that we are back on track," he added.
DPMM FC next face Harimau Muda II (Malaysian national under-21 football team) at the Pasir Gudang Stadium in Johor, Malaysia, on Sunday before meeting Albirex Niigata (S) FC in the Singapore Cup on June 29. Albirex beat Tanjong Pagar United FC 2-1 at the Queenstown Stadium in Singapore in last night's other S-League tie.
Kento Nagasaki opened the scoring in the third minute for Albirex and the lead was doubled by Keisuke Ota in the 59th minute. Monsef Zerka notched a consolation goal from the penalty spot for Tanjong Pagar in the 83rd minute.
The competition continues today with two more matches. Geylang International are up against Harimau Muda II at the Bedok Stadium in Singapore while the other game pits Tampines against Hougang United at the Clementi Stadium. Kick off for both games is at 7.30pm.
