Players are expected to wear a jersey Malaysia

Rajagobal's boys hold heads high in defeat

Malaysia’s Khyril Muhymeen (left) tries to go past an Iran player in their last-16 match at Yuexiy Stadium yesterday. Iran won 3-1.

MALAYSIA may have exited the Asian Games football tournament in the second round but K. Rajagobal's side did so having earned the respect of rival coaches in Guangzhou. The 3-1 defeat to Iran at the Yuexiu Stadium yesterday may have been easily predicted but the youthful and severely weakened Under-23 side could not be faulted for effort.

Injuries and suspensions meant Rajagobal only had 15 outfield players to choose from and six of those who started were 21 or younger.

By the time the match ended, there were nine players on the field who came from that age group with skipper Norshahrul Idlan Talaha and left-back Asraruddin Putra Omar the odd ones out.
After fending off Iran in the first half, the goals flew in as the inexperienced nature of the side began to tell but Iran coach Gholamhossein Peyravani admitted he had reason to be concerned.

"The Malaysian team are a good team who play one-touch football impressively. They tried not to let in a goal and made life very difficult for us in the first half.

"But once we scored, it became easier. The Malaysian team are much improved from several years ago and we were lucky we saw this Malaysian team in a competition in Vietnam earlier and learned a few things," said Peyravani through a translator.

While Iran go on to face Oman in the quarter-finals, Rajagobal was left to reflect on what might have been had Norhafiz Zamani Misbah, Ahmad Fakri Saarani (both injured), Safiq Rahim, S. Kunanlan and Mahalli Jasuli (suspended) been available.

"Certainly, we believe we could have gone on to the quarter-finals if we had these players and those six we left at home.

"It's sad to think what might have been because we could have made history again after so long.

"We gave away simple goals, there was nothing spectacular about them but these things happen with young players.

"I hope the Malaysian public understand what we went through and that these players tried their very best in the circumstances," said Rajagobal, who will now check on the extent of the injury problems before the AFF Suzuki Cup next month.

Malaysia suffered an early blow yesterday after losing S. Chanthuru to a hamstring injury with barely 20 minutes gone before Iran broke the Malaysian resistance through Karim Ansari in the 53rd minute with a clear run on goal.

Goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat, outstanding throughout the tournament, made a rare error six minutes later when he inadvertently punched a corner kick into his own goal under pressure from Seyed Hosseini.

Amir Sharafi rammed in a loose ball in the 67th minute for 3-0 before Norshahrul won and scored a penalty four minutes from full-time for his second goal of the competition.

RESULTS: Iran 3 Malaysia 1, Oman 3 Hong Kong 0, Qatar 0 Uzbekistan 1 (AET), China 0 South Korea 3.

TODAY: Japan v India, N. Korea v Vietnam, Turkmenistan v Thailand, UAE v Kuwait.


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Raja slams ref, players

Malaysia’s Safiq Rahim walks off after being shown the red card by the referee in the match against China at the Tianhe Stadium yesterday. China won 3-0.

MALAYSIA had three players sent off in an indisciplined 3-0 defeat to China but still advanced to the Asian Games football second round for the first time since 1978. Third place in Group A was enough to set up a meeting with Iran in the last-16 tomorrow but the Under-23 team could well be short of players for that match due to suspensions and injuries.

K. Rajagobal's side shot themselves in the foot early on with the successive dismissals of Mahalli Jasuli and Safiq Rahim, having been on the back foot the entire game.

S. Kunanlan was also red carded late in the game for a second caution after conceding a penalty while five other players were booked.
Right-back Mahalli, who picked up a caution as early as the second minute, was shown a second yellow card by Williams for petulantly kicking the ball away

Captain Safiq led the protests and was given a straight red to everyone's disbelief despite not appearing to raise his voice

That left Malaysia to battle on with nine men with Norshahrul Idlan Talaha taking over the skipper's duties and Amar Rohidan filling in at full-back.

Rajagobal was livid with Australian referee Ben Williams performance, who was too easily taken in by the China players theatrics, but also had strong words for his own team.

"I will have a word with Mahalli, he should not have done that, but I think the referee should at least have warned Safiq first.

"This was not a must-win game and the referee ought to have known that. Now I have to see how many players I have left for the next match.

"While I don't want to defend my players' actions, we tried as hard as we could to hang in there. Even if we had 10 men, I was confident we can match China," said Rajagobal.

Up until the sendings off, goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat kept Malaysia in the game with two early saves to deny China the lead.

China though were unable to make use of their numerical advantage and trooped off at half-time to jeers as the Malaysian defence led by a stellar Muslim Ahmad held off the hosts.

After two more splendid saves by Khairul early in the second half, Malaysia's resistance broke in the 62nd minute when Li Jianbin looped in a header off a free-kick into the far corner.

Four minutes later it was 2-0 as an air-kick by Norshahrul allowed Zhao Honglue's weak free-kick to trickle into goal.

Malaysia's misery was complete when Zhang Linpeng converted a penalty in the 83rd minute after a China took a dive to fool Williams, who sent Kunanlan to an early bath.


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Asian Games: Malaysia out to make history

MALAYSIA should still advance to the Asian Games second round for the first time in 32 years even with a defeat to hosts China today but coach K. Rajagobal is eyeing second spot in Group A. With Malaysia leading China on goal difference, a draw would be enough to set up a last-16 meeting with the Group C runners-up -- either South Korea or North Korea.

A defeat at the Tianhe Stadium, though, could mean a meeting with favourites Iran but Rajagobal said he was not worried about who they face in the next round, which would be the first time the football team clear the first round since 1978.

"We have set our minds on staying positive, a draw would take us both through and we would finish second. But it does not matter who we face next, it would still be a good experience for the players," said Rajagobal after yesterday's training session at the Huagang Stadium.
S. Chanthuru, who suffered muscle spasms after scoring the winner against Kyrgyzstan on Monday, is back in the frame after coming through his first training session without problems.

It leaves Rajagobal with a decision to make over who will start with striker Izzaq Faris Ramlan a possible omission from the side that lost 2-0 to Japan.

"I'm now facing a dilemma on who to start off with. I've tried a few options today (yesterday) and will have a look at the attitude of the players first.

"I've told them we are under no pressure, instead China will face the pressure of playing in front of their home crowd because they want to finish second too."

Malaysia can derive confidence from the fact that the Under-23 side held China's senior team 0-0 in a friendly match in Shah Alam last year ahead of the Sea Games.

Among the players who played then and remain on the team are Safiq Rahim, Amar Rohidan, S. Kunanlan, Asraruddin Putra Omar, Mahalli Jasuli and Norshahrul Idlan Talaha.

The last meeting between the two sides at the Asian Games was in 2006 in Doha when China won 3-1.


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Asian Games: Mixed fortunes for Izzaq

Japan's Hotaru Yamaguchi (left) and Malaysia's Rohidan fight for the ball in their match yesterday. Japan won 2-0.

IZZAQ Faris Ramlan had a mixture of emotions as he missed a golden chance to score against Japan, got himself booked before being substituted in a lively first start at the Asian Games yesterday. The 20-year-old Young Tigers forward who stands at 1.84m, could have brought Malaysia level in the Group A match at the Huadu Stadium just before the break but headed straight at the goalkeeper.

"The ball was coming at me a little high and I could not get enough power on it. The Japanese defenders are strong and I tried to push as hard as I could," said Izzaq, standing in for the injured Ahmad Fakri Saarani.

Izzaq was then booked as the half-time whistle went when he slammed the ball with his hands, which national coach K. Rajagobal later attributed to nervousness.
"I was just venting my frustration but the referee said I was intending to hit a player. I was a little nervous playing against such a good team.

"But I hope to do better against China, if selected, and help the team get to the next round," added Izzaq, who was replaced with 15 minutes remaining.

Striker Norshahrul Idlan Talaha and winger S. Kunanlan also hobbled off but should recover from their knocks to face China.


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Football: Norhafiz to boost defence

Malaysian players show off the new national team kits at its launch at Wisma FAM in Petaling Jaya yesterday. — Picture by Fariz Iswadi Ismail

THE injury crisis facing the national Under-23 footballers for the Asian Games highlighted the need for experience with the inclusion of Norhafiz Zamani Misbah at Safee Sali's expense when coach K. Rajagobal named his 20-man squad yesterday. With nearly the entire back-four missing, national team captain Zamani was drafted in as one of the overage players to plug the gaps in defence which meant there was no place for Selangor striker Safee.

Zamani was only being considered for the AFF Suzuki Cup next month but the loss of Aidil Zafuan Radzak, Azmi Muslim and Nasriq Baharom forced the coach's hand.

"I was not considering Zamani for the Asian Games but I didn't expect injuries to impact so many defenders. My earlier consideration in choosing the overage players was to replace Zaquan (Adha Radzak) but I had to adapt to the situation," said Rajagobal after the launch of the new national team kit at Wisma FAM in Petaling Jaya yesterday.
Winger S. Kunanlan and striker Norshahrul Idlan Talaha are the other two above-23 players named while the remainder of the squad picked itself from the provisional list of 30 after injuries claimed six key players in the training squad.

Zamani, Khyril Muhymeen Zambri and Safiq Rahim are the only survivors from the 2006 Doha Asian Games squad while two rookie goalkeepers in Khairul Fahmi Che Mat and Zamir Selamat well get to play in their first major tournament.

"Ideally, I wanted a senior goalkeeper to instill confidence in the defence and guide the squad. But Farizal (Marlias) had facial surgery and is lacking match fitness while Sharbinee (Allawee Ramli) injured his shoulder.

"We have China and Japan in our group, and without six key players it is going to be very difficult. There is no target but what is important is for the team to play well.

"I cannot accept it if we don't play well," said Rajagobal, who was only able to name nine players from the victorious 2009 Sea Games squad.

Malaysia open their Group A campaign against Kyrgyzstan on Monday before meeting Japan (Nov 10) and China (Nov 13).

The squad -- Goalkeepers: Khairul Fahmi Che Mat, Zamir Selamat; Defenders: Norhafiz Zamani Misbah (capt), Muslim Ahmad, Mahalli Jasuli, Fadhli Shas, Asraruddin Putra Omar, Fandi Othman, Faizal Muhammad; Midfielders: Safiq Rahim, K. Gurusamy, Amar Rohidan, Faizal Abu Bakar, S. Kunanlan, Gary Steven Robat, Khyril Muhymeen Zambri; Strikers: Norshahrul Idlan Talaha, Izzaq Faris Ramlan, S. Chanturu, Ahmad Fakri Saarani.
 

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