Kuching: Goalkeeper Fernandes Aderito felt like a hero after his numerous impressive saves helped Timor-Leste stay in the AFC Solidarity Cup Malaysia 2016 by forcing Nepal into a goalless draw in the Timorese’s last group game on Saturday.
Timor-Leste suffered a 4-0 loss at the hands of Brunei Darussalam in the Group A opener three days earlier with Aderito very much at the receiving end of the nonstop onslaught by the kingdom.
Fabio Joaquim’s side then went into their second and last group game against Nepal knowing that a defeat would send them on the plane home.
Despite this pressure, 19-year-old Aderito, who was making his debut for the senior team in the competition, took the heavy defeat as a stimulus to prepare better for the next game.
“I feel very happy for having stopped so many dangerous attempts from the Nepal team tonight. In our first game, we conceded four goals from Brunei, and that was very bad for my team and me personally, but I’ve learnt a lot from that game.
“The first game itself was a great teacher and I’d kept on training harder since that match. For one, I learnt after the first game how to help control the game. As a goalkeeper, we have a whole view of the match and see things our colleagues sometimes don’t see. I think I helped control the team better in the second game.”
The Timorese now hope Brunei will beat Nepal on Tuesday by a big enough margin so that Timor-Leste can pip the Nepalese for second spot in the group on goal difference and advance to the semi-finals.
“I feel like a hero, helping my team stay in the competition after the second match. But teamwork is also important. Now we just wait for a very favourable result in the last group game between the other two teams and hope for the best.”
