PETALING JAYA: Brunei winger Miguel Oliveira has urged the fans to keep believing in them and be patient.
That was the heartfelt message from the 30-year-old after their crushing 1-7 defeat to Kuching City in the FA Cup round of 16 second leg at the State Stadium in Kuching on Sunday.
Brunei were knocked out of the competition on an 8-4 aggregate after being swept aside by a relentless Kuching side, who overturned their first-leg 2-3 defeat in Bandar Seri Begawan on Aug 16 with a dominant performance at home.
Oliveira, who hails from Portugal, admitted the heavy loss hurt but reminded supporters that the team were still adjusting to life in the Malaysian Super League.
“The league is very different ... keep believing in us and please be patient, because this is a transition year, with players coming in and out, a change of league, and a higher level of competitiveness,” said Oliveira.
“I truly believe that together we can have a positive season, with good performances that will bring a lot of joy to our fans. We are in a difficult time but I feel, and I know, that we are improving game by game, and that will bring us closer to victories.”
Kuching stormed ahead through Ronald Ngah, who lobbed Brunei goalkeeper Kristijan Naumovski inside two minutes, before Ahmad Danial Asri doubled the lead in the 14th minute from a Ramadhan Saifullah cross.
Ngah struck again just before half-time, and he completed his hattrick in the 54th minute after a clever assist from Danial.
Brunei briefly clawed back a goal in the 57th minute when Ramadhan Sananta finished off a pass from skipper Azwan Ali Rahman, but hopes of a comeback were dashed as Naumovski failed to deal with a cross from Saifullah that ended up in his own net.
Danial sealed the rout in the 77th minute to cap a memorable night for the Sarawakian side.
Sananta, who scored Brunei’s only goal, was candid in his assessment.
“Congratulations to Kuching, they went through and deserved it. We lacked concentration. We made a lot of mistakes,” he said.
Coach Jamie McAllister admitted the defensive lapses proved costly.
“We scored one great goal, but we didn’t defend properly. We gave away easy goals. It was frustrating,” said McAllister.
“Dust yourself, get back up and play stronger. We want to win the next game and take our chances.”
The defeat adds to Brunei’s difficult start in the Super League.
They were held 2-2 by Police in their opener, before falling 0-3 to Selangor and 0-5 to Terengganu.
Next, they will host Kuala Lumpur at the Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Stadium in Bandar Seri Begawan on Sept 22.
