Malaysia’s Norshahrul Idlan Talaha (right) vies for the ball during the Group A match against Laos. — Bernama photo
KUALA LUMPUR: A second straight Group A win in the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup has boosted the players’ confidence ahead of their trip to Hanoi on Friday to take on Vietnam.
Tan Cheng Hoe’s men downed Laos 3-1 at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Monday and he described the three points collected as priceless and the best tonic for the next battle.
“The players today showed fighting spirit and did not give up even though we were a goal down after just seven minutes,” the coach said.
“I expect more of the same when we play Vietnam. We will not play defensively for 90 minutes but go looking for goals,” he added.
In the match, Laos led through Phitchak Kongmathilath before Malaysia hit back through skipper Mohd Zaquan Adha Abd Radzak and Norshahrul Idlan Talaha (two goals).
Meanwhile, man-of-the-match Norshahrul attributed the win to the hard work of his teammates and the coach’s tactics.
“The coach’s gamble in bringing on Muhammad Shahrel Fikri Md Fauzi, Muhammad Akhyar Abdul Rashid and Ahmad Hazwan Bakri in the second half got the attack going and we caused them a lot of problems.
“We struggled initially, but after the break we launched waves of attacks in their box and managed to score two crucial goals,” he said.
The Pahang striker, who hoped to see his teammates scoring goals in the coming matches, also advised Muhammad Akhyar and Muhammad Safawi Rasid to help out the frontline.
Malaysia will face Vietnam in their third match at the My Dinh National Stadium on Nov 16 before welcoming Myanmar to the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Nov 24 for their last group match. — Bernama