Malaysia must beat Singapore to keep final hopes alive

PETALING JAYA: There is little time for Malaysia to rest after their hard-fought stalemate in Jakarta in a bid to keep their final hope alive in the FIFA Asean Cup.

Harimau Malaya drew 0-0 draw against a 10-man Indonesia in Group A at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta on Monday.

They will face Singapore in the final group match tomorrow at the Si Jalak Harupat Stadium in Bandung and need to win to assure a place in the final.

If they lose, all the second-placed teams the group will play in the third-fourth playoff.

National interim coach Tan Cheng Hoe said the tight game against Indonesia have prepared the team.

“Our players have gained experience and confidence. Singapore will be another tough match, but I’m sure after this good result against Indonesia, we will be ready,” said Cheng Hoe.

Malaysia had earlier beaten Bangladesh 3-0.

Cheng Hoe said he wanted his team to go on the assault early.

As for the game against Indonesia, Cheng Hoe rued the chances his players missed, but conceded it was a tall order against a Garuda side who were superb defensively.

The likes of centreback Elkan Baggott, fullbacks Dean James and Kevin Diks, and goalkeeper Maarten Paes were impressive in the game.

The match turned in the 35th minute, when Indonesian midfielder Thom Haye was sent off after a video assistant referee (VAR) check by referee Ko Hyung-jin.

The 31-year-old, who plays for reigning Indonesia Super League champions Persib Bandung, was penalised for a studs-up challenge on the ankle of Malaysian winger Arif Aiman Hanapi.

Indonesia initially tried to hit Harimau Malaya on the counter-attack. When that failed to bear fruit, they relied on tactical organisation to frustrate the visitors.

“First of all, I would like to congratulate our players. They showed a great performance, good discipline and good character in the match,” said Cheng Hoe.

“We knew exactly how strong the Indonesian team are, but again, credit to the players.”

“We created a few chances, we really missed a few chances. Of course, we still have room for improvement,” he said.

“Sometimes in football, it’s a little bit difficult to play against 10 men because they change their tactical approach, receiving deeper and counter-attacking more.”

Meanwhile, Singapore’s striker Ilhan Fandi is looking forward to take on the Malaysians

He said Malaysia is a fixture steeped in history and often described by both countries as a derby. For Ilhan, it is one of the biggest games on Singapore’s football calendar.

“Yes, of course. Whenever we play Malaysia, we always call it a derby, right? Playing them is always a big game,”said Ilhan. Despite the intensity of the rivalry, Ilhan does not want Singapore to lose sight of their own performance.

“The first thing we have to do is focus on ourselves because we know every game in this tournament is very important. If we do that, the result will follow,” he concluded.

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