Just A Few Things: Thailand Vs. Malaysia
Football, Bloody Hell (SEA Edition)
You couldn’t make this up. It’s as if fate wanted to play a mean trick on us but perhaps changed their mind at the last possible second that they want us to be in the final at the cruel expense on our Thai counterparts. What happened at Bangkok reminded us why we love this game. It can bring you joy when you win, it can bring you sadness when you lose like playing a game of FIFA for example. Sadly for the Thais, it was they that experienced the heartbreak in a sport that bought them so much happiness in recent years.
We were oh so close to get out of Bangkok to book our ticket to the Suzuki Cup final without any late drama via away goals at 2-2. Then on 94 minutes, Syahmi Safari (More on him later), foolishly gave away a penalty via handball. And suddenly, the painful agony of not converting our chances in the first leg crept into every Malaysian body. Up stepped Adisak Kraisorn to be the hero of the day, only for him to be the villain when he skied his penalty over the bar with the last action of the match
While Thailand expressed disbelief, it was jubilation for us as almost everyone in the country (And the away fans at the Rajamangala Stadium) screamed at the top of their lungs in extreme relief and delight. Eight years ago, K. Rajagobal bought us together with full belief when we last won this trophy. Fast forward to now, his assistant then, Tan Cheng Hoe is on the cusp of repeating the feat as the main man in charge. One step away from taking it all and Philippines or Vietnam would stand in our way. We don’t know what fate has written our endgame in this year’s Suzuki Cup. For now, let’s cherish this hard-fought victory that we arguably deserve.
Even if the cruel twist of that we lose the final, we have to be proud of this team who played their hearts out with the pride of representing Malaysia. It has been a long time where he felt so happy
A Bitter End To A Strong Night
Most of these players are surely well on their way to the coming of age. But the night should’ve belonged to Syahmi Safari. Syahmi was so dynamic in almost the entirety of the whole match, making his usual pacy runs and good positioning to support Sumareh or any nearby attacker who has the ball. Near the half hour point, he exploded the game into life with dynamite that is his right foot. He picked up Norshahrul Idlan Talaha’s pass and struck it into the far top corner from the right that left Chatchai Budprom no chance of saving.
He might as well picked up the man-of-the-match award had he not made what was seen at first a severe costly error when he raised his hand to stop Adisak from heading the ball in the fourth minute of injury time. That resulted in a second yellow for Syahmi that left a sour taste in our mouths. He will surely be a big miss in the first leg of the final at home. So Amirul Azhan will be taking charge of the right-back role when 11 December arrives.
We also may have to contend to the potential loss of Aidil Zafuan through injury. Aidil as always looked solid to stop any Thailand’s forward passes. But he felt something painful in his hamstring after only 15 minutes. As a result, he was replaced by Ifran Zakaria. Aidil made his frustration known by angrily shouting in the air once he came off. Let’s hope it’s not that serious as him & Shahrul Saad have performed reliably throughout this tournament, apart from a few shaky moments early on.
Deputizing Left-Back
With Syazwan Andik facing a niggling injury he received from the first leg, Cheng Hoe took no risks and decided to start Nazirul Naim as the left-back. Nazirul was previously criticized as a player who can’t last for 90 minutes in a high-stakes competitive international match. But he showed the difference between him and Syazwan on what he can offer. Syazwan Andik is more agile and more offensive, Nazirul offered more of a defensive play style.
Nazirul isn’t afraid to get in there and rough up the Thailand right-flank when attempted to win the ball. Using his physique to win crucial balls and stopping the influence of Mongkol Tossakrai and later, Nurul Sriyankem. Although Nazirul was at fault when he allowed Mongkol space to head Supachai Jaided’s brilliant delivery across goal that lead to Thailand’s first of the night. Apart from that, he should be lauded for his performance tonight. He didn’t even look lethargic when the match approached full-time
Set-In-Pieces
Thailand had identified a crucial weakness in our team sometime during the match. They had tried to play on the counter-attack early in the match, but had to scrap the plan as Malaysia anticipated it by leaving at least four behind when they go forward. They tried the diagonal balls and while it yielded some results, it looked like they stopped doing so all the time as result of being too predictable.
Then, they found a chink in our armor: Set-pieces. Our problems dealing with set-pieces was well documented in one of our previous matches against Kyrgyzstan at Melaka. They set upon delivering those pinpoint crosses while the players in the box do their best to discomfort Farizal Marlias and our defence. They got their reward when substitute Sumanya Purisai, who only just came on delivered a left-wing free-kick that was headed by Pansa Hemviboon. Pansa’s header caused chaos as the ball bounced off the bar. But Pansa took a second crack with another header and this time went in despite Irfan’s best efforts to clear.
They could’ve got at least a goal or two more where Supachai’s header from a corner near post went over and Pansa could’ve headed another one into the top corner from another Sumanya free-kick if it weren’t for the bar. Defending set-pieces has to be next on the agenda in Malaysia’s next few practice sessions.
An Elephant Loose On The Pitch
Thailand though has an answer to stifle any influence from midfielders Akram Mahinan & Syamer Kutty Abba: Thitipan Puangchan. Any action Thailand would do, they can count on Thitipan to help out in any way he can. He was almost everywhere in the centre of the park. Defensively, he puts pressure on the ball holder and when going forward, provided an additional option to receive a pass. It was Thitipan who headed the ball on goal that lead to poor Irfan to accidentally bundle the ball into his own net for the match’s opening goal.
For major parts of the match, he was a nuisance in midfield and Malaysia had to play smart to avoid him whenever he was nearby the ball. Here’s hoping he gets a spot for the Asia Cup next month.