No clear favourite for mother-of-all-gold clash

THE football gold is one of the most coveted medals in the SEA Games.

So expect the whole of Malaysia to come to a standstill when the national team take on Thailand in the men’s final at the Shah Alam Stadium today (8.45pm).

Defending champions Thailand are in their third consecutive final. So, they have pedigree.

But Malaysia will have the backing of the 80,000-capacity crowd at the stadium – and millions more at home – willing them on.

Frankly, the final for the “mother of all gold medals” looks too tough to call.

Even national Under-23 coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee and the Thai teams assistant coach Naruephon Kaenson concur.

“Thailand always field a good team, be it an age-group side or their senior squad. They are always favourites,” said Kim Swee at the pre-match press conference yesterday.

“But for this final, I believe there are no favourites. We are playing at home and we want to achieve the best result possible.”

Naruephon, who represented head coach Worrawoot Srimaka at the press conference, said: “In any final, all teams are equal. Our players are injury-free and we are confident we can do well tomorrow (today).”

Fingers crossed: S. Kumaahran is doubtful for the final against Thailand today due to injury. 

It’s clear that Thailand hold a slight psychological edge, having beaten Malaysia 3-0 in the AFC Under-23 qualifiers in Bangkok in July.

But then, that Malaysian side did not have six key players, who were not released by their M-League teams.

The six – Syamer Kutty Abba and S. Kumaahran (Penang); Haziq Nadzli and Safawi Rasid (Johor Darul Ta’zim); and Matthew Davies and Nor Azam Azih (Pahang) – are back with the team now and are key players in the starting XI.

Kim Swee, however, is still sweating over the fitness of Kumaahran, who was substituted in Malaysia’s 1-0 semi-final win over Indonesia last Saturday.

“Tomorrow (today) is very special – last game of the tournament. We want to finish on a positive note.

“We need to look at Kumaahran’s injury situation. If he can’t play, we have other players who can replace him,” said Kim Swee, who guided Malaysia to the gold at the 2011 Indonesia Games.

The last time Malaysia and Thailand met in the final was at Kuala Lumpur 2001. Then, the Thais rained on Malaysia’s parade by beating the hosts 1-0 at the same venue.

Let’s hope national team skipper Adib Zainuddin and Co will have better luck against the Thais this time.

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