PETALING JAYA: Sticking together and perseverance led Harimau Malaya to escape with a 3-2 victory against Timor Leste in the AFF Cup.
Midfielder Paulo Josue admitted that they were thrown into a tight spot against Timor Leste, who were quick with their counter attacks and denied their attempts at attacking.
“They surprised us a little bit. We didn’t score lots of goals in the first half and they killed us on the counter attacks. Our attention to detail wasn’t there,” said Josue.
“But in the second half, we showed strength and fought as a team to get the three points. I was confident because some of the opposition players were tiring. We just needed to be calm with our actions.
“Now we need to focus on the next match against Thailand and aim for three points there as well,” he said.
World No. 132 Malaysia had to come from behind to win at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Wednesday against No. 195 Timor Leste in their second Group A fixture in the tournament.
Meanwhile, defender Daniel Ting (pic) said the national team had not underestimated their opponents.
“It’s international football and teams have their best players,” he said.
“I think perhaps there were some lapses in concentration for us, but the three points mattered the most.
Daniel is among four other Sabah players who will be missing the match against Thailand tomorrow as they have to return to their clubs to play the Malaysia Cup fixture against Kuching on Sunday.
The other players are Dominic Tan, Stuart Wilkin, and Darren Lok. Selangor players Harith Haiqal and Kalamullah Al-Hafiz will also miss the action in Bangkok tomorrow.
