KUALA LUMPUR: It’s going to be tricky for Malaysia to qualify for the semi-finals of the Asean Footbal Federation (AFF) Under-22 Championship after losing 0-1 to hosts Cambodia in their opening Group B match Monday.
The first-half of the match, played at the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh, ended goalless despite both teams attacking relentlessly.
Datuk Ong Kim Swee’s men had a good chance to go ahead in the 31st minute, but Muhammad Hadi Fayyadh Abdul Razak failed to connect a cross from M. Kogileswaran Raj.
Four minutes later it was Cambodia’s turn to fluff their lines when Narong Kakada headed just wide off the Malaysian goalmouth. However, a 62nd-minute free-kick awarded to Cambodia proved to be the turning point of the match.
Malaysia’s Danial Haqim Draman was adjudged to have fouled Orn Chanpolin and the 20-year-old midfielder was sent off for a second bookable offence.
Sath Rosib then rubbed salt on Malaysia’s wound by scoring from the free-kick, beating national goalkeeper Haziq Nadzli.
Malaysia faced Indonesia yesterday and Myanmar on Friday, while Cambodia were up against Myanmar next.
Earlier, in another Group B match, Myanmar and Indonesia also shared the spoils following a 1-1 draw.
Group A comprises Thailand, the Philippines, Timor Leste and Vietnam and the top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals.
Kim Swee, who was clearly unhappy with the sending off, said he would revamp the midfield for yesterday’s clash against traditional rivals Indonesia, partly also because he won’t have Danial Haqim (red card) and Kogileswaran (injury). – Bernama
“Of course, not good in terms of result. We did not really play that well. I’d like to congratulate Cambodia, they played well and made it difficult for us. We have to come back strongly in the second game (against Indonesia) and I believe my players can do it.
“The red card killed the game for us (against Cambodia). We only started to play well when Nik Akif Syahiran Nik Mat came on and began to move the ball very well though the middle. Unfortunately, when you are up against 11 players and you are one short, that makes it very difficult for any team.
“We need to play as a team against Indonesia if we hope to get anything at all. Indonesia played quite well against Myanmar too,” he told the post-match press conference.
Bernama obtained the audio recording of the press conference from the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). – Bernama
