Malaysian Under-23 coach Ong Kim Swee is not overly concerned about his misfiring strikers in their training-cum-playing stint in Slovakia.
Out of the seven strikers in the team, only Mohd Ferris Danial Mat Nasir and Ahmad Hazwan Bakri have found the net. And, even then, they have each notched just one goal apiece.
The other strikers – Mohd Izuan Sollahuddin, A. Thamil Arasu, Syahrul Azwari Ibrahim, Izzaq Faris Ramlan and Ahmad Fakri Saarani – have been firing blanks.
While the strikers have been finding it hard to get off the mark, the wingers have taken flight. Wan Zack Haikal Wan Noor is the team’s top scorer with two goals, while Mohd Irfan Fazail and Mohd Fandi Othman have a goal each to their names.
But Kim Swee is not going to lose any sleep over it.
“We have to remember that the players are still young and it takes more time for a striker to mature,” Kim Swee said in a telephone interview from Vion, Slovakia.
“If the strikers don’t score, it doesn’t mean that they are not trying hard enough. They are actually contributing in other ways and I’m happy with their performance.
“I’m confident players like Thamil and Syahrul will be just as prolific as or even better than Safee Sali and Norshahrul Idlan Tahala. They just need more time to develop as strikers.”
The young team started their Slovakia stint on a positive note – beating three club sides Bodva Moldava (1-0), MFK Topvar Topolcany (2-1) and Liptovsky Mikulas (2-1).
But the Under-23 side suffered their first defeat when they went down to Hungarian Division One outfit Honved Budapest 1-4 in Budapest on Tuesday.
Wan Zack Haikal scored Malaysia’s solitary goal in the 55th minute of the rout.
The Under-23 boys will play three more friendlies against Slovakian club sides – Dolny Kubiu (Aug 16), FC Nitra (Aug 23) and FC Levice (Aug 26).
The Slovakia stint is being used to prepare Kim Swee’s boys for the final round of the Asian Zone Olympic qualifiers next month.
Malaysia will start their qualifying campaign against Japan on Sept 21 followed by two home matches against Syria (Nov 23) and Bahrain (Nov 27).
Out of the seven strikers in the team, only Mohd Ferris Danial Mat Nasir and Ahmad Hazwan Bakri have found the net. And, even then, they have each notched just one goal apiece.
The other strikers – Mohd Izuan Sollahuddin, A. Thamil Arasu, Syahrul Azwari Ibrahim, Izzaq Faris Ramlan and Ahmad Fakri Saarani – have been firing blanks.
While the strikers have been finding it hard to get off the mark, the wingers have taken flight. Wan Zack Haikal Wan Noor is the team’s top scorer with two goals, while Mohd Irfan Fazail and Mohd Fandi Othman have a goal each to their names.
But Kim Swee is not going to lose any sleep over it.
“We have to remember that the players are still young and it takes more time for a striker to mature,” Kim Swee said in a telephone interview from Vion, Slovakia.
“If the strikers don’t score, it doesn’t mean that they are not trying hard enough. They are actually contributing in other ways and I’m happy with their performance.
“I’m confident players like Thamil and Syahrul will be just as prolific as or even better than Safee Sali and Norshahrul Idlan Tahala. They just need more time to develop as strikers.”
The young team started their Slovakia stint on a positive note – beating three club sides Bodva Moldava (1-0), MFK Topvar Topolcany (2-1) and Liptovsky Mikulas (2-1).
But the Under-23 side suffered their first defeat when they went down to Hungarian Division One outfit Honved Budapest 1-4 in Budapest on Tuesday.
Wan Zack Haikal scored Malaysia’s solitary goal in the 55th minute of the rout.
The Under-23 boys will play three more friendlies against Slovakian club sides – Dolny Kubiu (Aug 16), FC Nitra (Aug 23) and FC Levice (Aug 26).
The Slovakia stint is being used to prepare Kim Swee’s boys for the final round of the Asian Zone Olympic qualifiers next month.
Malaysia will start their qualifying campaign against Japan on Sept 21 followed by two home matches against Syria (Nov 23) and Bahrain (Nov 27).
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