HANOI: Self-belief is a powerful tool.
But that is what the national football team are banking on as they embark on their “redemption mission” at the My Dinh National Stadium here on Thursday.
The Harimau Malaya lost 2-1 to Vietnam in the first-leg of the AFF Suzuki Cup semi-final at the Shah Alam Stadium last Sunday.
Now, they have a mountain to climb in the away leg.
But the 30-year-old Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) hitmen – the hero of the victorious 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup team – refuses to give up. Not when they still have a fighting chance.
“Nothing went right for us in the first-leg. Except for the early penalty (which Safiq Rahim converted), we were under tremendous pressure. But it’s pointless talking about that now,” said Safee.
He is right, of course. But thousands of fans thronged the Shah Alam Stadium hoping to see Safee repeat his heroics of 2010, when he netted a brace in the 2-0 semi-final first-leg win at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil. The teams drew 0-0 in the return leg in Hanoi and Malaysia went on to win the Cup for the first time when they beat Indonesia 4-2 on aggregate.
Safee knows he has let the fans down. But he also knows what needs to be done to salvage the situation.
“We have to buck up and turn this tie around. We need to study their game indepth and watch the video of the first-leg match so that we can correct our mistakes. The fleet-footed Vietnam players used their speed to their advantage and were always a step ahead of us,” said Safee.
“Now they have the advantage of playing at home .. but let’s not lose hope. We have to stop them and we can do it because we have an experienced set of players, who have played under these situations before.
“More importantly, we must believe in ourselves to get the job done.”
The national team arrived in Hanoi on Monday to get acclimatised to the chilly weather, which could drop to as low as 10°C.
The team have no injury concerns. Skipper Mohd Shukor Adan and striker Mohd Amri Yahyah are also available for selection after serving out a one-match suspension in the first-leg of the semi-finals.
National coach Dollah Salleh said that “the players are adapting well to chilly weather”.
“I’m drawing up the game plan ... it’s harder for us now as we need to chase the game,” said Dollah.
“Our suspended players will be back and that’s a big boost for us ... we now need to get our game plan right.”
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