‘LUCKY’ SUNDRAMOORTHY

Laos coach has history of good results against Malaysian teams

COACH V. Sundramoorthy has always had that element of luck against Malaysian teams. His most memorable achievement was guiding LionsXII to the Super League title in 2013, which embarrassed Malaysian clubs, including Johor Darul Ta’zim.

In 2016, the former Singapore coach helped his former SLeague club, Tampines Rovers to record back-to-back wins over Selangor in the group stage of the AFC Cup.

And today, all eyes will be on Sundramoorthy on whether he will be able to help Laos turn the tables on Malaysia in the AFF Cup at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

The 53-year-old is regarded as one of the best tacticians in Southeast Asian football.

He often instructs his teams to park the bus after scoring a goal, which has been effective in attaining success.

However, Sundramoorthy has not had much luck with Laos as the minnows have lost two matches so far since the Singaporean signed a three-year contract with them last month.

In his first match in charge, Laos were defeated 4-1 by Mongolia in last month’s friendly before they were thrashed 3-0 by Vietnam in their opening AFF Cup on Thursday.

“Sundramoorthy has played and coached in the Malaysian League, and he definitely knows our players’ strengths and weaknesses.

“I am aware of this slight advantage that he would be probably having on us.

“I have reminded my players not to bother about other factors except for the match tomorrow.

“They need have confidence and score as many goals in the match,” national coach Tan Cheng Hoe told NSTP Sport yesterday.

The 50-year-old Malaysian has high regards for Sundramoorthy.

“We know how his teams play their football, and I expect Laos to be tight at the back and also rely on counter attacks for goals.

“It is the way Sundramoorthy likes his team to play... he has his own style and philosophy, and we definitely need to be cautious.

“Laos may have lost their opening match, but it does not mean we should underestimate them in all aspects,” noted Cheng Hoe.

For the record, Malaysia’s only defeat to Laos in 15 encounters since 1968 was the 1-0 defeat at the Jakarta Sea Games in 1997.

Cheng Hoe, however, disclosed that he might reshuffle his attack for the match.

“Our main problem is attack. We had so many chances against Cambodia but managed only a 1-0 win.

“I will either move my attacking players (that played against Cambodia) around or use those on the bench in attack.

“We not only want to win tomorrow but also score as many goals in our own backyard, before we face group favourites Vietnam and Myanmar.” he added.