Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Sea Games: Malaysia Is Now Recognised As Asean Football King

JAKARTA, Nov 22 (Bernama) -- Having defended the SEA Games gold medal last night proved Harimau Muda are Asean's best, and winning the SEA Games 2009 and the Asean Football Federation Cup (AFF) in 2010 was no fluke, either.

Although the performance of Harimau Muda prior to this was disputed, the absolute victory last night silenced the Indonesian media and fanatical supporters of the Garuda Muda squad.

The Indonesian media now admitted Malaysia is King of Asean Football.

Malaysia defended the gold medal it won in Laos in 2009 by subduing Indonesia 4-3 through a penalty shootout last night.

Malaysia beat Indonesia 1-0 in the last match of Group A, and last night, Malaysia tamed them again on their own sacred field, Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

Ong said the match last night would not have gone into extra time or a penalty shootout had Wan Zaharulnizam Wan Zakaria, Syahrul Azwari Ibrahim and Izzaq Faris Ramlan been able to play. They were injured in the match against Myanmar.

Malaysia stepped into the final match after beating Myanmar 1-0 while Indonesia beat Vietnam 2-0 in another semi-final match.

Ong said he had told his players to make short passes during extra time as they were already tired after playing three matches with only a day's rest in between matches.

He also said Mohamad Fadhli Mohd Shas's dan Mohd Irfan Fazail's experiences in Slovakia also contributed to the squad's game.

He also gave credit to his players who were not disturbed by the psychological play of the opposition supporters but focused fully on the game.

After Datuk K.Rajagobal tasted the sweetness of being called champion of the football event at the SEA Games 2009, it is now Ong's turn.

But, maybe not for long, as a more important mission awaits his squad - facing Syria in the Olympic qualifier at Bukit Jalil National Stadium tomorrow.

-- BERNAMA

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