'I don't like the score'
Those were the words of national coach K.Rajagobal right after Malaysia lost 3-0 to Singapore in the AFF Cup last night.Rajagobal was clearly dumbfounded with the scoreline but defended his players despite their rather poor performance on the field.
Singapore skipper Shahril Ishak scored a brace while 'veteran' Aleksander Duric scored the final goal of the night as the national lads were left in tatters.
"To be honest, a draw would have been a fair result. Yes, Khairul (Fahmi Che Mat) made a mistake..everyone makes mistakes. The team came back in the second half but we didn't score," said Rajagobal.
Earlier, Rajagobal praised Norshahrul Idlan Talaha, saying the Kelantan player played a "good game".
"We started positively but our play was marred by sloppy defending."
At the last edition, Malaysia were whacked 5-1 in the opening match against Indonesia but bounced back to win the tournament.
When asked if the same could happen again, Rajagobal had this to say;
"It was different then. Singapore didn't score pretty goals but we lost.
"I hope to see Singapore in the final," he added.
Singapore coach Radojko Avramovic, meanwhile,didn't expect the huge scoreline.
"Firstly, I'd be happy with a 1-0 win anyway. The defenders did a good job today and it was a psychological advantage that motivated the other players," said Avramovic.
"It's good that we started this way. Now we need to keep our heads down and continue to play the same way against Indonesia."
In the curtain raiser at the National Stadium, Indonesia were held to a 2-2 draw by a gritty Laos team.
Indonesia skipper Bambang Pamungkas admitted Laos was the better team of the night but was quick to add that he will motivate his teammates when they play Singapore on Nov 28.
"This is my fifth AFF Cup and perhaps my last. I will do all I can to motivate the players. It doesn't matter if I play or not but I will want to see them rise and win our next two matches," the former Selangor player added.
HD says: Still got time.....
Apakah kita akan jadi pasukan belasahan... melihatkan kepada performance Indonesia dan Laos ianya tidak mustahil....
ReplyDeleteMalaysia main format 4-0-6. Nampak tak Mahali terpaksa naik keatas bila nak hantar bola sebab tak de midfield....
ReplyDeletePasal apa tak reti-reti lagi, bila lawan Singapore, tak boleh passing bola tinggi?
Yet, Rajagopal is blaming defending player.
Be warned! Yesterday, Laos was the best of the 4 competing teams. Laju giler.
Kamarul
Malaysia bermain dengan xda midfield kot semalam.
ReplyDeleteAgreed Kamarul. Laos played well yesterday. Indonesian team this year is very weak compared to the previous tournament. I hope we can beat both Laos and Indonesia and qualify to the semis. Defeats to Singapore is a very bitter pill to swallow as they are our nearest neighbour. Its also involved our bragging rights. Rajagopal, please do something wise for once.
ReplyDeletePak Nik
4-0-6, thats a simply new formation created by RG and surely after this many top coaches in the world will practise it. He is a damn living legend i'd say!
ReplyDeleteugly jersey thats why....
ReplyDeleteThe writing was on the wall! 2 defeats & 2 draws in last 4 matches proved that Msia were on the wrong track. Even Tengku Abdullah noticed and commented on this to Rajagobal.
ReplyDeleteSo, now Msia have no choice but to win both the remaining matches and win back the fans & get back on track. The way Msia played, we may struggle against Laos on Wed. Nothing but a convincing victory v Laos is expected.
All is not lost, go out and win on Wed! Learn from Sundays's mistakes and play with more urgency!
"No choice but to go forward" is a popular phrase nowadays.
ReplyDeleteSince our backs are against a wall, I have to agree that forward is the only way.
But why was it that this phrase was not popular before?
Back then (up to the day before yesterday), the popular phrase was "he won the AFF before, surely he knows what he is doing. Let him do his job, we must put our trust in him"
Let us see what will happen on Wednesday. I'm still waiting to be proven wrong.
Kamarul
"HARIMAU MALAYA TURNED LIONESS"
ReplyDeleteThe Malaysian team failed miserably by ditching out a very bad and aimless play. They lacked composure, they played a high tempo game too soon and had no patients going forward. 'Caution should have been the approach...
The Msian were too eager to score they were sending the ball forward with no purpose at all most of the time...
Playing pattern awareness amongst the players were terribly Unnoticeable, leading to a very prototype predictable play. The Width and depth of play was not capitalized at all. The players showed lack of knowledge in understanding the concept of play(football).
The most shocking was the inability of the whole team to display group tactical moves and play, they looked very poor and ordinary.
Imagine, the National Football team players lacking the ability in so many area of play.
Can RG explain to us on why the player under him are lacking the fundamentals as a footballer? Why are they so ignorant of a situation and not able to formulate plans accordingly in a ever changing surrounding?
"Football is a very complex-ed sport, one should be equipped for the complicity by not being complicated"
Too much EPL possibly...