THE FLOOD FACTOR
Hodak tells boys to win match for those affected
AJITPAL SINGH ajitpalsingh@nst.com.my
THE floods in Penang and Kedah turned out to be a huge motivation factor for Malaysia in the 4-1 win over Indonesia in yesterday’s AFC Under-19 qualifying Group F match at Paju Stadium in South Korea.
Coach Bojan Hodak motivated his boys, especially those from Penang and Kedah, by urging them to play for their families, friends and neighbours who are currently affected by the floods.
It was an exceptional win considering that Indonesia, who have been training as a unit for the last eight months, were in Europe to play in tournaments and friendly matches to prepare for the qualifier.
In contrast, Hodak only had three weeks to get his team ready due to his players’ commitments in the domestic league.
Malaysia, who have nine points, are now guaranteed a top two finish in the qualifiers.
They will earn direct entry into the AFC Under-19 Championship Finals in Indonesia on Oct 18-Nov 4 if they beat Korea in their final group match tomorrow.
The champions in each of the 10 groups and the five best runners-up in the qualifiers will earn berths for the tournament proper.
“I have players from Penang and Kedah, so I used the catastrophic floods to motivate them. They gave more than 100 per cent for this great win,” said Hodak. said Nor Azam yesterday.
“However, I will have to work hard to earn my first cap. There are many regulars in the team that can replace Safiq. It, however, does not matter whether I play or not as long as the team get a good result.”
Safiq is suspended following a red card in the 2-0 defeat to Hong Kong in October. However, the midfielder will be available for the following fixture against North Korea on Nov 13.
“I was called up in October for
“We were tactically stronger today. I studied Indonesia through videos of their previous matches and planned the tactics accordingly in training. My players executed them well.
“Indonesia rested more than half of their regulars but a win is still a win for our team. It is a good win as Indonesian players had exposure the match against Hong Kong, but I had to pull out due to personal issues. I am short in terms of international experience but I am motivated to do well under Vingada,” Nor Azam added.
Vingada has made two changes to his squad following injuries to Johor Darul Ta’zim’s Darren Lok and Kedah’s Baddrol Bakhtiar.
The Portuguese has called up Perak’s Ahmad Khairil Anuar Zamri and Felda United’s Hadin Azman as replacements. Zulfaizan Mansor in Europe.”
On Malaysia’s qualification chances, Hodak said Korea are a class above and a draw will be a very good result.
“Korea have superior goal difference and we will have to beat them to top the group in order to qualify automatically for the tournament proper.
“A draw will be a great result but if we lose, I hope it will not be by a huge margin,” he added.
Malaysia scored through Hadi Fayyadh Abdul Razal (seventh and 52nd minutes), Akhyar Rashid (34th) and A. Shivan Pillay (47th).
Hanis Saghara Putra replied for Indonesia in the 43rd minute.