KUALA LUMPUR – With just a week left before the AFF Cup kick-off, Harimau Malaya head coach Kim Pan-gon assured that he would go back to the drawing board immediately and fix all the weaknesses identified in the friendly fixture against Maldives last night.
Despite beating world number 154 Maldives 3-0 at Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium, Pan-gon’s charges were not in top form.
“(During) the first half, it was not smooth, there was a little struggle on the attacking side, but we improved in the second half. Maybe our football is physically demanding and sometimes the players need to be more accurate and shouldn’t lose ball possession too early.
“Even if we had lost, I am happy because the players showed passion, commitment, and followed instructions 100%, so zero complaints. We just need to correct a few things technically and tactically,” he said in the post-match press conference.
He said it was different in the previous outing when the Harimau Malaya squad thrashed Cambodia 4-0 last Friday, as his players were seen to have improved in terms of running distance and speed as demanded by the coaching team.
When asked about his confidence in the team to fight the likes of Vietnam and Singapore for the top two spots in the AFF Cup group stage, Pan-gon said he could see the players are in good spirits, committed, and “hungry” to fight for success.
“What I can say is that we are doing well so far. We want to give you a good performance in every single game. All the public and fans have to know that we fought for you. We are very serious. Every single day we work hard, so we want you to be on our side.
“If we cannot get good results, we must cry together, if we get good results we must be happy together. We try to make fans happy. That’s why we run a lot, fight a lot – to make you proud,” he said.
Malaysia are set to open their AFF Cup campaign in Group B against Myanmar in Yangon on December 21, followed by their second match against Laos at Bukit Jalil National Stadium on December 24, before facing Vietnam in Hanoi on December 27 and Singapore in Bukit Jalil on January 3.
In the match against Maldives last night, the three goals for Malaysia were scored by Darren Lok in the 24th minute, Muhammad Faisal Abdul Halim in the 64th, and naturalised striker Lee Tuck in the 88th.
Meanwhile, Maldives head coach Francesco Moriero was happy with how his players were able to play a competitive match after three months, as their Dhivehi Premier League is on a break until March.
“We played against a strong team, but three individual mistakes caused three goals, and we failed to convert two opportunities to score. As a coach, (I am) happy because my team played with intensity and disciplined tactics, despite playing with seven young players,” he said. – Bernama, December 15, 2022
