DPMM FC's Mohd Hendra
Azam Mohd Idris (Front)
shields the ball from
Azwan Ali Rahman as
coach Vjeran Simunic
looks on during
Tuesday's practice
session at the
Jerudong Mini Stadium.
The team will be
looking to cast aside
memories of Sunday's
6-2 loss to Tampines
Rovers FC when they
take on Warriors FC at
the Choa Chu Kang
Stadium in Singapore
today. Picture:
BT/Saiful Omar
DPMM FC want to forget about their last Singapore League (S-League) game quickly.
They will close out their three-game, eight-day schedule with a battle against Warriors FC today at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium in Singapore.
Brunei's only professional club will be eager to put aside memories of their 6-2 thumping at the hands of leaders and defending champions Tampines Rovers at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas on Sunday.
It was the second largest defeat for DPMM FC on their home ground but the early signs both teams were deadlocked at 0-0 at halftime before Alexander Duric took over and bagged a hat-trick gave little indication that the match would turn out that way.
DPMM FC head coach Vjeran Simunic wants his charges to regroup and forget about their last outing ahead of tonight's game at the
"We are now looking at how we can repair mentally and stay motivated," said Simunic in an interview with The Brunei Times when met on Tuesday during their training at the Jerudong Mini Stadium.
"We must forget our last result quickly and turn things around in the next game.
"We need more concentration for a better result.
"Warriors are a good team and we will see how it goes," continued the Croatian.
Eighth-placed Warriors FC and ninth-placed DPMM FC are both locked on 24 points from 20 games, with the former on top of the Bruneian side based on a better goal difference.
Choosing not to focus on their league standings, Simunic is hoping for a positive result as they prepare for their biggest game of the season on September 10.
They will face Woodlands Wellington FC in the semi-finals of the Singapore League Cup which is their only chance of silverware this season, with the match to be played at the Woodlands Stadium in Singapore.
"Sometimes the schedule can be against us but we cannot choose. We want to get a good result ahead of our big game against Woodlands," said Simunic.
"We will have around 10 days to prepare ourselves. We have to work hard on preparing both physically and mentally.
"Our fitness has taken a dip after one month of fasting and we've lost many players to injury.
"We can only do our best with whatever we have and we are always looking to win every game," insisted last year's S-League Coach of the Year who will be without left-back Sairol Hj Sahari (miniscus tear) for the rest of the season.
The other game of the day will see Tampines and Woodlands go head-to-head at the Woodlands Stadium in Singapore.
Both matches are set to start at 7.30pm.
Last night's sole game saw Tanjong Pagar United FC and Geylang International FC play out a 1-1 draw after Tanjong Pagar's Kamel Ramdani scored a 90th minute equaliser to cancel out Shotaro Ihata's 62nd minute goal.
