Hope springs eternal for Ong
He sees only positives in team
PETALING JAYA: National coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee is a perennial optimist.
The Harimau Malaysia were second best in their friendly against Singapore, which ended 0-0 at the National Stadium in Kallang on Friday.
Yet, former international Kim Swee was effusive in his praise of his defenders’ resolute performance.
“I fielded a new back four today (on Friday) and we didn’t concede. So, it’s a good result,” said Kim Swee.
“The match was close and neither team wanted to lose ... considering it was a Malaysia-Singapore clash. We did well defending as a unit and Singapore had their best XI on the pitch.
“Of course, I’d love to play beautiful football, but the game is such that it’s the result that is most important. If we play beautiful football and lose ... then it’s a disaster too.”
Kim Swee’s men can thank their lucky stars for surviving the Singapore onslaught, with the Lions having three attempts hitting the crossbar.
The Malaysian defenders put up a markedly improved display compared to the calamitous 3-0 loss to Indonesia in another friendly in Solo last month.
Kim Swee, however, admitted that there’s still a lot of room for improvement ahead of the AFF Suzuki Cup next month.
The national team have been hard hit by the sudden retirement of seasoned pros like Safiq Rahim, Aidil Zafuan Abdul Razak, S. Kunalan and Amirulhadi Zainal in July.
Kim Swee has also seen his training disrupted by off-field distractions, like when Johor Darul Ta’zim II only released their players four days before the match against Singapore.
“I hope the players I have now will continue to be available for call-up, but there are so many things happening back home that I’m not sure if I’ll have the same players to count on,” said Kim Swee.
“I’m very sure that we could have played better if I had the same squad who faced Timor Leste in the Asian Cup qualifying playoff in June (Malaysia won 6-0 on aggregate) ... that’s the reality.”
The national team’s next assignment is another friendly – against Afghanistan – at the Shah Alam Stadium on Tuesday.
The friendlies are part of the team’s preparation for the AFF Suzuki Cup from Nov 19-Dec 17. Malaysia are in Group B with hosts Myanmar, Vietnam and a yet-to-be-named qualifier.