PETALING JAYA: Playing with a depleted strike force almost cost Malaysia’s qualification to the second round of the Asia Zone World Cup qualifier but Datuk K. Rajagopal’s boys proved that they have what it takes to continue Malaysian football’s revival.
Malaysia lost 2-3 to Taiwan in the first round second leg match in Taipei on Sunday. Malaysia, who won the first leg 2-1 at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Wednesday, ended up 4-4 on aggregate but advance to the second round on away-goals rule.
Two well-executed freekicks by Mohd Aidil Zafuan and skipper Safiq Rahim proved that Malaysia have enough tricks up their sleeves to win a match.
Back home: Coach Datuk K.Rajagopal (right) and the Malaysian team arriving at Wisma FAM yesterday.
However, lapses in concentration, as seen during Sunday’s match against Taiwan, could spell disaster against their more formidable second round opponents Singapore.
Malaysia will travel to the Jalan Besar Stadium on July 23 and play the return leg against Singapore at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on July 28.
“The defeat to Taiwan should be taken on the chin. We will learn from it and prepare to do better against Singapore,” said Rajagopal, who will celebrate his 55th birthday on July 10.
“Any team in the world would have an off day and it happened to us against Taiwan. We did play well in patches but Taiwan were much more consistent in front of their home crowd.
“As a coach I don’t like to lose. I believe our match against Taiwan would have given the players a valuable lesson on how to play under pressure.”
In Taipei, Rajagopal was without his talismanic striker Mohd Safee Sali who aggravated his knee injury in the first leg in Bukit Jalil. The goal-scoring burden was shouldered by the Norsharul Idlan Talaha who just recovered from a hamstring injury. The Super League top scorer with 17 goals was a pale shadow of himself on Sunday and barely posed a threat to Taiwan’s backline. Abdul Hadi Yahya, the current second top scorer in the Super League, was rather jittery as it was his first international competitive match. Third choice striker Ahmad Fakri Saarani who has yet to fully recover from a knee injury, came on as a substitute but he was not match-fit.
Rajagopal will be using the friendly matches against English Premier League giants Arsenal on July 13 and Liverpool on July 16 to gauge his players’ preparation for the Singapore match.
Before the Singapore match, Rajagopal should have Safee, Norsharul and Fakri fit and ready to join the fray. “The injured players should return by then to beef up the team. I expect a tight game against Singapore as we know each other’s game very well and play a similar style of football.”
Malaysia lost 2-3 to Taiwan in the first round second leg match in Taipei on Sunday. Malaysia, who won the first leg 2-1 at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Wednesday, ended up 4-4 on aggregate but advance to the second round on away-goals rule.
Two well-executed freekicks by Mohd Aidil Zafuan and skipper Safiq Rahim proved that Malaysia have enough tricks up their sleeves to win a match.
Back home: Coach Datuk K.Rajagopal (right) and the Malaysian team arriving at Wisma FAM yesterday. However, lapses in concentration, as seen during Sunday’s match against Taiwan, could spell disaster against their more formidable second round opponents Singapore.
Malaysia will travel to the Jalan Besar Stadium on July 23 and play the return leg against Singapore at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on July 28.
“The defeat to Taiwan should be taken on the chin. We will learn from it and prepare to do better against Singapore,” said Rajagopal, who will celebrate his 55th birthday on July 10.
“Any team in the world would have an off day and it happened to us against Taiwan. We did play well in patches but Taiwan were much more consistent in front of their home crowd.
“As a coach I don’t like to lose. I believe our match against Taiwan would have given the players a valuable lesson on how to play under pressure.”
In Taipei, Rajagopal was without his talismanic striker Mohd Safee Sali who aggravated his knee injury in the first leg in Bukit Jalil. The goal-scoring burden was shouldered by the Norsharul Idlan Talaha who just recovered from a hamstring injury. The Super League top scorer with 17 goals was a pale shadow of himself on Sunday and barely posed a threat to Taiwan’s backline. Abdul Hadi Yahya, the current second top scorer in the Super League, was rather jittery as it was his first international competitive match. Third choice striker Ahmad Fakri Saarani who has yet to fully recover from a knee injury, came on as a substitute but he was not match-fit.
Rajagopal will be using the friendly matches against English Premier League giants Arsenal on July 13 and Liverpool on July 16 to gauge his players’ preparation for the Singapore match.
Before the Singapore match, Rajagopal should have Safee, Norsharul and Fakri fit and ready to join the fray. “The injured players should return by then to beef up the team. I expect a tight game against Singapore as we know each other’s game very well and play a similar style of football.”
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