Defender Dominic admits his mistake cost them a victory

NATIONAL Under-23 defender Dominic Tan has admitted his mistake cost the team and will now work on redemption.

The centreback gave away a late penalty which was converted by Japan’s Ayase Ueda in the 88th minute to knock out Malaysia 1-0 in the last 16 match at the Patriot Chandrabhaga Stadium in Bekasi on Friday.

The 21-year-old had a splendid campaign in the Asiad forming partnership with Adam Nor Azlin and Mohd Irfan Zakaria, allowing only two goals in two matches before disaster struck against Japan in the dying minutes.

Dominic got to the ball first as he tried to dispossess Ueda in the box but challenging from behind is always risky and Iranian referee Bijan Heidari promptly gave a penalty kick and Ueda slammed the winner easily.

“I made a mistake and it cost us the game with the late penalty. It’s something that I can learn from and hopefully it won’t happen anymore,” said a dejected Dominic.

“I’ll pick myself up and continue with my training. I’ll focus on my upcoming matches with my club.”

The Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) player said the team can hold their heads held high despite the disappointing exit from the Games.

“It’s a learning experience playing against two big teams in Asia – South Korea and Japan.

“We will use this experience to help us in our career,” said Dominic. “I made a mistake and we had a couple of chances but we hit the post twice.

“We didn’t have much luck. We did well against South Korea and that’s something to be proud of.”