The Brunei Darussalam national football team missed out on a berth in the upcoming ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024 following a 1-0 aggregate loss to Timor Leste during the qualification round on Tuesday night.
The Wasps were seeking to overturn a 1-0 loss during the home leg but their fate was sealed after a goalless draw in the second leg in Chonburi, Thailand.
The Wasps had a chance to restore parity in the sixth minute but Nazry Aiman Azaman ballooned his effort painfully wide after Azwan Ali Rahman had mid-kicked his shot.
Timor Leste, who played the home leg at a neutral venue, looked to double their lead as Zenivio Moto‘s tried to place his shot into the bottom corner, which was comfortably saved by Brunei shot-stopper Muhammad Haimie bin Abdullah Nyaring.
Brunei’s star Hakeme Yazid Said brilliantly slipped through a pass to Azwan Ali who made a decent cross into the box.
However, an attacker on the end of the cross headed the ball into the stands as a chance went begging for the Bruneians. With time running out, Azwan Ali’s pinpoint cross found the on-rushing Hariz Danial Khallidden whose shot was parried away by Timor Leste’s goalkeeper Juninldo Manuel De Castro Pereira.
The result confirmed the Timorese’s passage into the group phase of the competition which will commence this December.
Timor Leste, who exacted redemption after they were denied a place during the previous edition, will join defending champions Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia in Group ‘A’. – Fadhil Yunus
