M’sia women must move past Philippine setback
KOTA KINABALU: Malaysia’s women will have to do better when they face Myanmar in their second SEA Games football match at the UiTM Stadium in Shah Alam tonight.
Head coach Mohd Asyraaf Fong Abdullah will be making several changes to the first-11 line up and hopefully, a change of tactics will yield the desired results.
Malaysia lost 2-1 in their first test against Philippines on Tuesday. The squad, comprising mostly Sabahan players, trailed 1-0 at the break after Impelido Patrice Mae San scored the opening goal.
Malaysia bounced back in the 51st minute thanks to Dadree Rofinus but the match eventually went to the Philippines after Cathleen Camille scored the winner in the 73rd minute.
Asyraaf said he will be fielding a first-11 line up comprising players with greater physical strength to try and match Myanmar.
“They (Myanmar) also lost their first game (3-2 to Thailand) which means they are looking to bounce back too just like us.
“We will try to prevent them from getting an early goal and at the same time, our players must capitalise on every chance to score.
“We created chances against the Philippines but failed to make them count, so we need to do better this time,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Furthermore, Asyraaf wants his charges to take Tuesday’s disappointment as motivation to seek victory.
“We (Malaysia) are considered underdogs in this competition, but anything can happen in football and it is not impossible for us to create a surprise.
“I tried to make the players forget about our defeat to the Philippines. They must put that behind and focus on the next match.
“Hopefully, the changes we will make can bring positive results so that we can continue our quest for a bronze medal,” he said.
For the record, FIFA ranking placed Malaysia as the weakest team in the SEA Games competition.
They are ranked 80 while Philippines are 71, Myanmar, 45, Vietnam, 32 and Thailand 29.