Ahmad Hazwan Bakri
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia lost the match – but passed the test.
That was the conclusion made by national Under-23 coach Ong Kim Swee after watching his men go down 2-0 to China in their final warm-up match in Qingdao on Wednesday – ahead of their Incheon Asian Games opening Group A match against South Korea on Sunday.
Kim Swee wanted to use the friendly against China to work on the defence – and he is pleased that his backline managed to hold its own, especially in keeping the score 0-0 in the first half.
“The boys did not allow China to penetrate the defence ... China had only one good look at our goal in the first-half. I’m pleased with the organisation of the team despite being reduced to 10 men,” said Kim Swee from Qingdao.
He was, however, upset with striker Ahmad Hazwan Bakri’s “foolish act” in picking up a red card and putting the team under pressure.
“All the good work was undone when Ahmad picked up a red card in the opening minutes of the second-half. We were down to 10 men ... yet, my men fought well. It was just unfortunate that we ended up conceding two goals in the last 20 minutes,” said Kim Swee.
Malaysia wanted to work on their defence as they intend to “park the bus” when they face three-time Asian Games gold medallists South Korea on Sunday.
The other teams in Malaysia’s group are Laos and Saudi Arabia. Defending champions Japan are in Group D with Kuwait, Iraq and Nepal.
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