Just A Few Things: Malaysia Vs. Maldives
Credit- Football Association of Malaysia (FAM)
High Tech
All three of Malaysia’s goals were scored with such stunning technique, hence ‘high tech’. Firstly, Norshahrul Idlan Talaha on the left went to the outside and played a brilliant pass to captain Zaquan Adha, whose effort was even more magnificent when he just only raised his leg and guided the ball out of Maldives’ keeper, Hussain Shareef’s reach.
Malaysia looked so bright going forward, but they had to wait until last 10 minutes to find their second. And goodness, it was some goal. Moments after saving a curler, Hussain’s attempt to clear the corner bounced to the path of substitute Safawi Rasid. Safawi scored with a Sepak Takraw-esque Tekong kick that Hussain had no chance to get.
To round off the night, Mohamadou Sumareh took Ahmad Numaan the sword. Receiving a clearance, he took him on with some stepovers and beat him before he sneaked a shot into the near post past the subbed-in goalkeeper, Hassan Tholaal as the last action of the match.
Malaysia had most of the possession and got Maldives pegged back. But the visitors had clear-cut chances of their own and we barely got away from trouble. However, a victory over a team with about 20 places above us should see us rising in the FIFA World Rankings.
Now Keep It Long
Malaysia though was almost the makers of their own downfall. Especially when they tried to build from the back. What caused their nervousness was Khairul Fahmi playing it short to start the build-up. What made it astounding was this was done 9.5 times out of ten. Maldives picked up on this habit and hunted down any Malaysia player that is about to receive that short pass from the keeper.
It’s Ok to play it short to keep control of the ball, but to do it almost every time was maddening. It nearly gave everyone a heart attack and gasped in fear whenever a Maldives player get close to the ball holder so near the Malaysia box. Malaysia has to mix up their ball distribution from the back to be unpredictable, otherwise they will have to deal high pressure, something they are not comfortable facing.
Bailed Out By Apek
But, and this is a big but, we have to face it: If it weren’t for Khairul Fahmi, fondly know as Apek, the result would’ve been much different. Maldives finally took control in some parts of the match, especially in the 2nd half. The tempo they set unnerved Malaysia’s defence. Ali Fasir & Ibrahim Mahudhee were the most threatening attackers for Maldives. Both had glorious one-on-one chances but their efforts were tipped away by Apek crucially as he frustrated Maldives.
Other than that 61st minute chaos where he tried to be too clever, it was a job well done for Apek. He took over the captaincy when Zaquan was subbed off midway through the 2nd half and showed good leadership. He might as well have sealed the no. 1 spot then and there.
Somewhere In The Middle
Syamer Kutty Abba was back in the middle, this time he has Nor Azam Azih as his midfield partner since Kenny Pallraj was not named in the matchday squad. Syamer kept things simple with the ball while it was Nor Azam’s job is to be the ‘Carrier’, continuing that build-up going forward while having that ability to win the ball back.
Both did well in their respective roles, but there may be a problem Syamer has to improve. His awareness needed to be a lot better and sometimes was caught in possession. So Nor Azam had to catch up to win the ball back and regain the ground Syamer lost.
Akram Mahinan then came in at half-time for Nor Azam, which further indicates Syamer is one of the two first-choice midfielders. Akram’s vision and passing was good enough as he often found the runs of the wingers. Azzizan Nordin however, was not named in the matchday squad. The question now is: Who will be Syamer’s midfield partner?
Gives You Wings
If Sumareh & Norshahrul are an energy drink, they would be Red Bull. They gave so much incentive and penetration that they kept the Maldives’ full-backs busy and made life hard for them. Norshahrul was his lively self as usual. He was looking to exploit space and create those clever passes. He was all over Maldives’ final third. Initially starting out as the no. 10, he would often drift to the left and help out Syazwan Zainon. He played so well that even some people crowd seemed excited on what Mat Yo will do next with the ball.
Sumareh on the other hand did not let full-back Ahmed Numaan breathe easy. His take-ons were immense and it was rather unfortunate that his deliveries were cut out by the Maldives captain, Akram Abdul Ghanee. Still, Sumareh got his reward with a goal moments before full-time for his excellent technical skills and pace. Both wingers will give a hard time to opposition full-backs and if anything happens to them, Akhyar Rashid and Safawi can step in.
Better Off Advanced
Our left-back position is going to be something our upcoming AFF Suzuki Cup opponents are looking to exploit. Syazwan Andik once again started as the left-back and this showing further proves he needs to step away from that role. While looking great going forward, his defensive duties is not up to scratch. Sometimes he gets caught out and had to rely on either Shahrul Saad or Khairul Fahmi to bail him out.
He was also caught out a few times in the previous match against Kyrgyzstan. Syazwan Andik is better off as a wing-back or left-winger. Playing him as the left-back against the more dangerous sides in the Suzuki Cup would be asking for trouble. If Tan Cheng Hoe makes his selection based on the 26 players he called up for this match, it’s going to be a big problem as Nazirul Naim is the only recognized left-back.
Are We Ready In Five Days?
We kick off our AFF Suzuki Cup match at Cambodia in five days time. Are we all set? Attacking-wise, we should be all good to go. Sumareh, Safawi, Akhyar Rashid & Norshahrul would give defenders something to fear with their prowess. Same can be said about the goalkeeping where he have reliable options in Apek, Farizal Marlias and Hafizul Hakim.
Although, wish that can be said about the defense. Shahrul Saad & Aidil Zafuan though showed decent composure in the entire first-half. It may be no coincidence that once they were both off the field, Maldives found their rhythm. Irfan Zakaria was surprisingly shocking when he came on where he looked nervous with the ball and dealing with Maldives’ attackers.
The way Malaysia play will give some degree of optimism, but expectations are still low as we’re under the rebuilding process yet again following the recently unveiled F:30 plan.