KUALA LUMPUR - Harimau Malaya head coach Tan Cheng Hoe doesn’t want to blame any player for the team’s 2-1 defeat to Vietnam at the Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) earlier today.
However, Cheng Hoe, whose father died just about 12 hours before the kick off, said football is about team work and hopes his charges will work to improve and play as a team so that the national squad can be a formidable force in the future.
His father Tan Chooi Siak, 95, died of old age at about noon yesterday in Alor Setar, Kedah.
Commenting on Group G of the 2022 World Cup/2023 Asian Cup second-round qualifiers, the 53-year-old coach said his side were unlucky to have conceded two goals via set pieces.
“Overall as a coach I am very happy with the performance of our players, despite the defeat. It was not an easy game, but everyone was very committed and disciplined. Maybe due to the change in approach (tactic by Vietnam to defend and launch counter attacks), we lost concentration in the set pieces.
“Definitely we had our chances. Both teams played open football and tried to get a positive result, but unfortunately it was not our day. I still strongly believe that my players played well but we need to step up against Thailand,” he told the post-match press conference in Dubai. The audio was shared to the press by the Football Association of Malaysia.
The Golden Dragons opened accounts through a powerful header by Nguyen Tien Linh in the 27th minute off a corner kick. Harimau Malaya equalised through Guilherme de Paula’s penalty in the 72nd minute.
However, Vietnam secured the three points through Que Ngoc Hai’s penalty 10 minutes later, a questionable decision.
After two consecutive defeats and having missed the chance to qualify to the third round of the 2022 Qatar World Cup and automatic qualification to the Asian Cup, Cheng Hoe wants his charges to focus on their final group tie against Thailand on Tuesday morning to get an easier path for the Asian Cup qualifications.
“Thailand won’t be an easy and they had more rest compared to us (after their 1-3 defeat to UAE on Monday). Definitely as a coach, I have to prepare the players for the next match,” he added.
The unbeaten Vietnamese top the standings in Group G with 17 points after seven games, followed by the UAE (15 points), Thailand (nine), Malaysia (nine) and Indonesia (one). - Bernama. June 12, 2021
