Last night it was Ricciuto who opened the scoring in the 20th minute to set up the three points that take the Gegar Gegar men five clear at the top of the ladder.

Coached by former Stoke City assistant Adrian Pennock, unbeaten Brunei defeated Hougang 3-2 in a top-two thriller at the Hassani Bolkiah Stadium.

Arguably the most in-form Australian player so far this year in Asia, the deep-lying Aussie midfielder has scored five in eight games. 

   See Ricciuto's rocket from earlier this season here  

This form has helped his club surge five points clear at the top of the Singapore Premier League after eight rounds.

Last week, the former Rockdale Suns man was picked in the Singapore Premier League team of the week for a second time by the SG Football Podcast.

Ricciuto’s form has even alerted Uruguayan media, with the former Penarol player - who has Uruguayan heritage - speaking on Uruguayan radio last week about his career resurgence in south-east Asia.

 

The Aussie played at Penarol in 2014-2015 before returning to Australia’s second-tier and semi-pro NPL with Rockdale Suns. 

Surprisingly, no A-League club spotted Ricciuto during which time he also worked for Sydney FC in their community department.

“We recently played three games in eight days getting two wins and a draw,” an exhausted but happy Ricciuto, 26, told FTBL.

Ricciuto in last year's FFA Cup for Rockdale Suns against Sydney FC

Ricciuto was playing NPL football in Sydney for Rockdale Suns before earning a trial with the Brunei club at the start of 2019.

Since then, he’s taken his chance with both hands.

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