SNOW PLAYS SPOILER

Bad weather forces friendly against Syria to be called off

HEAVY snow put an end to yesterday’s warmup match between Malaysia and Syria for the Asian Under-23 football championship.

The bad weather forced Ong Kim Swee’s boys to call off their match at the Jiangsu Training Stadium in Nanjing, China.

This has put a dampener on Kim Swee’s plans and he has reminded his charges to be ready for a tougher campaign.

The friendly against the Syrians was supposed to be the final warm-up match for Kim Swee’s team before they begin their Asian Under-23 Championship campaign against Iraq in Chiangsu on Jan 10.

Thick snow enveloped the stadium’s pitch, and Kim Swee expects more tough and unexpected situations once the championship proper gets underway.

“We are disappointed because this friendly match could not be played, it is something out of our control because of the uncertain weather conditions,” he said yesterday.

“But it does affect our preparations because I wanted to use the match to assess the players.

“Thankfully, the players have already been put to the test during the three friendly matches played when we were in South Korea for the second phase of centralised training.

“I already know what I need to know about our team’s strengths and weaknesses.

“Our players must not just be physically prepared but mentally strong as well to face the bigger challenge of facing superior teams in the championship while playing in very cold weather conditions.”

The cancellation of the friendly match has forced Kim Swee to do only normal training sessions for his team in Kunshan.

Earlier, the Malaysians were in Mokpo, South Korea for two weeks for the second phase of centralised training. They also played a series of friendly matches, drawing 1-1 against Mokpo City FC, beating Honam University 1-0 and held 1-1 by Jeonju Citizens FC.