A step ahead: Nooa Laine (left) gets past a Vietnamese player during the match at the Khalifa International Stadium. — FAM
PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Under-23 football team’s costly 2-0 loss to Vietnam in the Asian Cup felt like a kick in the gut for coach Juan Torres Garrido and his young Tigers.
The Spaniard could not help ruing over a dubious free-kick that was awarded to the Vietnamese from which Khuat Van Khang went to fire them into the lead in the 39th minute at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday.
It appeared to Garrido that centreback Ubaidullah Samsul Fazili had his shirt pulled by Vietnam’s Ho Van Cuong before he reacted to bring down the latter.
A despondent Garrido said at the press conference: ‘’It was a match where we expected to win, but unfortunately, we couldn’t bury the many chances we had,” said Garrido.
“But most of all, it was that questionable free-kick that changed everything for us. It left us in a difficult situation and the players got emotional.’’
With the loss, Malaysia’s second in the group after the opening 2-0 defeat to Uzbekistan on April 17, the Harimau Muda’s hopes of meeting the Football Association of Malaysia’s target of reaching the quarter-finals have been dashed.
Centreback in control: Harith Haiqal Adam Afkar passing the ball during the game against Vietnam. — FAM
They can only look forward to soothing their battered pride by winning their last match against Kuwait at the Al-Janoub Stadium on April 23.
The fall to Vietnam was even harder for Garrido to take when his side had the better possession (52 percent) and higher number of shots on goal (15).
“Missing those chances cost us dearly. We also made quite a number of mistakes, some by players who are young and inexperienced,’’ he added.
“Now, we can only look forward to getting a win in our last group match against Kuwait.’’
Centreback Harith Haikal Adam Afkar was distraught after the team’s early exit and apologised to the Malaysian supporters.
“On behalf of all the players, I want to say we are so sorry for the loss. We did our best but maybe we were not good enough and we realised that. We hope to bounce back after this.”
Vietnam will take on Uzbekistan on Tuesday to decide the Group D winners as Malaysia and Kuwait square off in an immaterial tie to restore some pride.
