The national Under-18 football team barged into the win column of the 41st Asian Schools Football Championships after defeating Macau 2-1 in Group B yesterday.
The result had already bettered their outing at the previous edition last year where they lost all four of their games in Iran.
Contested at the Mae Fah Luang University in Thailand, Ak Md Shobri Pg Ibrahim netted the Sultanate's first goal in the 18th minute at the Nov 6-16 competition.
Md Syafiq Jefry had his shot deflected by a Macau defender but the ball took a lucky bounce to land at the feet of Ak Md Shobri who fired it home from inside the box for the lead.
Macau got back on level terms through a freekick two minutes into extra time just before the halftime whistle.
It was in the 79th minute that Md Syahmi Rashid netted the winner after a scramble inside the box.
Brunei could have added to their tally in the 85th minute after Ak Md Azreen Eskander Pg Hj Saoda was brought down inside the box to earn a penalty.
However, Md Aman Hj Abd Rahim missed the ensuing spot kick.
National coach Tajul Ariffin Sumpong was satisfied with the performance but felt that they could have added more to the scoresheet.
"We controlled the match and had a lot of chances. We could have scored more but our finishing was not good," said Tajul in a phone interview with The Brunei Times yesterday
"But I'm still satisfied with the performance by my boys today (Saturday)," he added.
The Sultanate will face South Korea in their next match today.
"It will be a tough encounter. We will need to play like how we did against China.
"We need to play more defensive football with only one striker up front," emphasised the coach.
Brunei had started out their campaign with a 2-0 loss to China on Friday.
It was a good result considering that the national squad kept one of the tournament favourites at bay for 70 minutes.
The Sultanate will close their campaign against Vietnam tomorrow.
