No Cheers For Malaysia Despite Win

30 Mac, 2015



SHAH ALAM: Malaysia were jeered off the pitch after labouring to a 2-0 win over Macau in the AFC Inder-23 Championship qualifying match at the Shah Alam Stadium.

Malaysia were expected to win by a big margin. Instead, they could only score through winger Syahrul Azwari Ibrahim (pic) in the 12th minute and defender Wan Ahmad Amirzafran Wan Nadris in the 67th minute for their first win in Group I.

Malaysia, in third place on three points, are virtually out of the running for a berth in next year’s Finals in Qatar after losing 2-1 to Vietnam in their opening match on Friday.

Only the top 10 group winners plus the five second best-placed runners-up qualify for the Finals. From there, only the top three will play in the Olympics.

In another match, Japan sealed their berth in the Finals after Shoya Nakajima’s brace downed Vietnam 2-0 for their second win. They were 7-0 winners over Macau on Friday.

When asked about the fans’ unhappiness, national coach Razip Ismail said: “Criticism is normal in football ... It’s not easy to play well and win every time. We are not in an easy group and the players worked hard to score more but were denied by the Macau goalkeeper.”

Malaysia next face Japan tomorrow while Vietnam play winless Macau.

Sumber - K. Rajan www.thestar.com.my