Safee can't wait for revenge on Singapore

Malaysian striker Safee Sali should be celebrating after scoring the fastest goal of his career on Saturday.

But the only thing the striker could talk about after the 5-3 defeat to Singapore at the Jalan Besar Stadium was how much he wants to play in the second leg in Bukit Jalil on Thursday.

"We will stamp our class in Bukit Jalil. I will make sure we qualify for the third round of this competition (World Cup Qualifiers)," said Safee in Singapore yesterday.

Safee, who plays in the Indonesian Super League with Pelita Jaya FC, had previously never scored against Singapore in a senior-level match.

But on Saturday, it took him only 26 seconds to give Malaysia a dream start before adding his second 20 minutes from time.

"We still have a good chance as we have 90 minutes of football left. We may have lost but we scored three important away goals. I am confident we will bounce back in the second leg," said the 27-year-old.

Safee was unstoppable upfront as besides scoring two goals, he also created several chances for his teammates, who wasted all of them.

It could have been a different story if the injured Norshahrul Idlan Talaha had played. The Kelantan striker, who is down with a hamstring injury, will also miss the second leg.

Norshahrul's replacement Ahmad Fakri Saraani played alongside Safee but the Negri Sembilan striker was ineffective.

National coach K. Rajagobal eventually replaced Ahmad with Super League top-scorer Abdul Hadi Yahya who scored five minutes after coming on in the 64th minute.