PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s roller-coaster ride of a win over Taiwan at Taipei Municipal Stadium in Taiway yesterday left a bitter-sweet taste in national coach K. Rajagopal’s mouth.
He was unhappy that Malaysia conceded three penalties and lost 2-3 last night to end up 4-4 on aggregate but the away-goal rule give Malaysia the ticket to the second round.
“We have qualified for the second round but I’m still not satisfied with the team’s performance,” said Rajagopal. “We were inconsistent. The team clicked well in attack but then there were lapses in our performances. “We need to improve for our second round tie against Singapore.”
Rajagopal is expected to have a rejuvenated strike force consisting talismanic striker Mohd Safee Sali, Norsharul Idlan Talaha, Ahmad Fakri Saarani for the trip to Jalan Besar Stadium on July 23.
Malaysia was hit by an injury crisis with the three strikers still carrying injuries going into last night’s match. Norsharul started while Fakri played in the second half. Safee had to sit out the match.
Team manager Datuk Subahan Kamal admitted that the team need to buck up in the second round Asian Zone World Cup qualifying match against Singapore. “It’s good that we managed to get to the second round after a long time. I believe the team played better than the first leg,” said Subahan from Taipei.
“Taiwan played very well although they are ranked lower than us. Our players put up a determined show. Some of the referee’s decision was harsh on us and was lopsided, nevertheless, the players managed to hold on to qualify for the second round. “We can’t afford to repeat the mistakes against Singapore. The players will have to pull up their socks.”
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