Lack Of Midfield Support Has Left Dollah Wanting

8 Jun, 2015



PETALING JAYA: National football coach Dollah Salleh wants more from his midfielders.

Dollah, who is preparing his side for their opening 2018 World Cup qualifying match against Timor Leste at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Thursday, believes that those in the engine room have to provide better support to the strikers.

“We can’t expect the two forwards to play against four or five defenders. The midfielders need to help out by pushing forward and giving the strikers more options upfront,” he said after a training session at Wisma FAM.

“We have yet to find the best 11, but the friendly against Hong Kong (last Saturday) has given me a rough idea of who should start against Timor Leste.”

The nine midfielders vying for a place in the starting line-up are Joseph Kalang Tie (Sarawak), Mohd Nasir Basharudin (Perak), Ahmad Hazwan Bakri (Selangor), Safiq Rahim, Mohd Nazrin Nawi (Johor Darul Ta’zim), R. Gopinathan, Azamuddin Akil (Pahang), Indra Putra Mahayuddin and Ahmad Syamim Yahya (Felda United).

Dollah also admitted that he has yet to find his best strike partnership.

Mohd Amri Yahyah, Safee Sali (Johor Darul Ta’zim) and first-timer Afiq Azmi (Selangor) were easily kept in check by the Hong Kong defence in Saturday’s friendly.

“I’ve been swapping the three strikers during training, giving each a chance to partner with one another,” said Dollah.

“I’ll find the best pairing in attack by Thursday ... once we start scoring, we should have no problems.”

Malaysia’s second Group A match of the Asia Zone World Cup qualifier is against Palestine on June 16, also at the National Stadium.

Sumber - Joash Ee De Silva, Star Online www.thestar.com.my