Vjeran Simunic's men now need just one more win to complete a fairy-tale ending to the tournament — where they have been the surprise of the 19-day competition and cemented that reputation by beating the 2007 League Cup champions last night.
They will face either defending league champions Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) FC or Home United FC in the final on Friday, with the two teams facing off in the second semi-final at the Jalan Besar Stadium today.
Though they are on a high after last night's win, DPMM FC will find themselves without two key players on Friday as captain and defender Pg Sallehuddin Pg Hj Damit and Algerian striker Abdel Hamid Berguiga — who scored the winner in the 56th minute — have been ruled out of the final.
The former was shown a yellow card for a harsh tackle in the 64th minute and will be suspended for the final.
Berguiga, who was silly to argue with referee Abdul Malik three minutes from time to receive his second yellow card for dissent just seconds after picking up his first for bringing down midfielder Asraf Rashid.
Despite the loss of the duo, DPMM FC head coach Vjeran Simunic was in an upbeat mood during the post-match interview and was confident of beating SAF FC if they made it to the championship match.
"We are already champions because we have beaten SAF twice this season," declared the Croatian.
"I am sorry we did not score six or seven more goals because we had the chances ... It could have been 8-2."
"I am also sorry to have lost two of our players and I am sad that people will not be able to see a full strength DPMM FC in the final," said Simunic, who blamed the referee for forcing Berguiga to an early shower.
After a cagey first few minutes, Berguiga came up with DPMM FC's first chance in the 11th minute but his volley from outside the box was comfortably saved by the Rams' goalkeeper Rezal Hassan.
The Bruneians got on the scoresheet in the 26th minute when Ivan Jerkovic lashed a free-kick into the top right corner after midfielder Ismadi Mukhtar was adjudged to have fouled Berguiga just outside the box.
DPMM FC have been gaining a reputation as a physical team as of late but it was their opponents who won that honour last night, coming up with four yellow cards in the first half alone.
Striker Oh Ddog Yi spurned a golden chance to double DPMM FC's lead two minutes after the restart when Shahrazen Hj Md Said squared a pass from the right only to see the South Korean shoot well wide of the right post.
But they got their two-goal cushion 13 minutes later when Berguiga finished a move he started, passing the ball to Sairol Hj Sahri on the left and scoring with a header from the resultant cross to put the Bruneians' one foot into the final.
It could have been 3-0 in the 62nd minute but once again Oh's finishing was lacking, unsuccessfully trying to chip the ball over Rezal during a one-on-one situation.
Two minutes later Pg Sallehuddin was shown a yellow card, and the resigned look on the skipper's face left no doubt of his disappointment at not being able to play in the final.
A mazy run by Shahrazen seconds later which saw him dribble past three players in the box could have killed the game, but once again, finishing was to blame.
It was only in the 68th minute that Woodlands found their first shot on target, a header from Iranian striker Mojtaba Tehranizadeh off a corner from the left which was saved by Mohd Wardun Yussof in between the DPMM FC posts.
But there was no stopping Tehranizadeh in the 73rd minute when he caught the DPMM FC backline asleep and scored after dribbling past two players.
Croatian defender Rene Komar would prevent an equaliser from midfielder Jamil Ali in the 82nd minute to set up a tense last few minutes in which DPMM FC were forced to play with 10 men.
But despite the number disadvantage, their defence stood firm and they are now only one win away from being crowned champions of the Singapore League Cup. — Jason Thomas
Taken from The Brunei Times
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