KUALA LUMPUR: Brunei’s DPMM endured a frustrating return to the M-League after throwing away a 2-0 lead in a 2-2 draw with Police in the Super League at Selayang Stadium on Saturday.
Making their first appearance in the competition since the 2007-08 season, DPMM raced ahead inside six minutes through Ramadhan Sananta and Miguel Oliveira.
But Police hit back, with South Korean import Park Tae Su striking twice in the 67th and 71st minutes to level the contest.
DPMM coach McAllister Reynolds was left ruing his side’s missed chances.
“We should have scored more than two goals today. We could have put the game to bed with a third,” he said.
“In the second half, credit to Police, but we could have defended their goals better.
“There were individual mistakes. We have a lot of new players, so it takes time to gel. At 2-2, we still created chances — it’s frustrating.”
DPMM rejoined the M-League after several seasons in Singapore’s S-League.
Meanwhile, Kelantan the Real Warriors (KTRW) coach E. Elavarasan admitted his side were second best in a 4-0 defeat to Kuching City at the Sarawak Stadium, blaming poor defending and a lack of physicality.
“Kuching were better prepared and more competitive. They’ve played together for years, and you can see the difference,” he said. “We need to find more quality players.”
Kuching’s goals came from Ronald Ngah Wanja (second, 71st), Joao Pedro (18th) and Ramadhan Saifullah (90th).
In Batu Kawan, KL City cruised to a 3-0 win over Immigration FC, ending a 30-year wait for a season-opening victory with a clean sheet.
Coach Risto Vidakovic said: “Our pre-season was only a month, so this is a morale-boosting win.”
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
