PETALING JAYA: It has taken two hard blows from the Middle Eastern teams for head coach Kim Pan-gon to accept the reality that Malaysia are nowhere near their levels.
On Saturday, Harimau Malaya went down fighting 0-1 to Bahrain in the Group E match of the Asian Cup at the Jassim Hamad Stadium. It was a much improved performance after losing 0-4 to Jordan earlier.
They will face South Korea on Thursday but are no longer in contention for the last 16 stage.
The defeat to Bahrain was gut-wrenching as winger Ali Madan scored a last-minute winner in the 96th minute of injury time with a long-range shot from outside the box.
Painful: Head coach Kim Pan-gon reacts during the press conference. — Bernama
Pan-gon has apologised not only for the defeats but also for painting a picture that the team were capable of matching or even doing better than their higher ranked opponents.
“We thought we could challenge sides that are ranked 86th and 87th, but in the first game (against Jordan), we tried to do it, but we were far away. In the second game (against Bahrain), we defended well but we didn’t dominate,” he said.
“A draw would have been good enough, but we came close. We tried to look at a different approach but this is the strength we have.”
Pan-gon did what he usually does – defended his players.
“I feel sorry for the players because they have passion and dreams. I have it too. I feel sorry for the fans too because they expected us to reach the last 16,” he said.
“I appreciate the effort the players put in. They did whatever we wanted.
“But we have to accept this. I will take this responsibility. This is where we are right now.
“I want to apologise because I cannot give a result that can make everyone proud.”
The next challenge will be Malaysia’s toughest yet as they will take on world No. 24 South Korea who will parade world-class players like wingers Lee Kang-in and Son Heung-min, centreback Kim Min-jae and midfielder Hwang In-beom.
But Pan-gon is hopeful for a positive performance from the boys against his birth nation.
“We have to be positive because we have one more game in this tournament,” he said.
“We will play the giants but we must participate and challenge ourselves. That should be the attitude,” he said.
“We are ranked no. 130, but we were once 154 in the past. When you are in this stage, we must show that we deserve to be here.
“There will be lots of reflection for sure, we just want to be better in the future.”
