Coach Hodak positive his side will improve in match against Brunei

PETALING JAYA: National Under-19 coach Bojan Hodak (pic) believes that his side will do better in their second 2018 AFC Under-19 Championship Group F qualifiers – against Brunei – on Saturday.

Hodak’s boys turned up the heat in the second half to kick off their qualifying campaign with a comfortable 3-1 win over Timor Leste at the Paju Stadium in Paju, South Korea, yesterday.

Goals from Muhammad Hadi Fayyadh (53rd minute), Nik Akif Syahiran Nik Mat (67th) and Muhammad Zhafir Md Yusof (77th) gave them a 3-0 lead before Timor Leste scored a consolation goal through Filomeno Junior Da Costa’s late spotkick (90th+2).

Hodak attributed the late goal they conceded to his players celebrating before the final whistle and losing their concentration.

“We had the same problem in the first two matches of the Asean Football Federation’s (AFF) Under-19 Championship in Myanmar last month.

“But I’m confident the players will improve in the next match.

“I’m happy with the three points but to challenge Indonesia and South Korea we need to be better,” said Hodak after the win.

The Croatian coach admitted that his players got off to a slow start against Timor Leste as “they are still adapting to playing in cold conditions”, having only arrived in Paju last Sunday.

“The players are not used to cold weather and were a bit nervous in the opening game. Timor Leste pressed hard in the first half and we couldn’t play our game,” said the 46-year-old coach.

“At half-time, I told the players to be patient and to look for space.

“Timor Leste couldn’t keep up with our pace when we upped the tempo and it opened up space for us to score.

“I’m happy with the second half performance but I’ll change our style of play for the next match.

“We definitely need to improve before playing Indonesia and South Korea.”

After the Brunei game on Saturday, Malaysia will take on bitter rivals Indonesia on Nov 6 and host South Korea on Nov 8.

The 10 group winners and five best second-placed teams will qualify for the Finals in Indonesia next October.