Just A Few Things: Kyrgyzstan Vs. Malaysia
Credits: Football Association of Malaysia (FAM)
Nikmatilah Our Penyerang!
Malaysia made a great start to their Asian Games campaign seeing off Kyrgyzstan 3-1. And it was all thanks to the front three: Safawi Rasid, Syafiq Ahmad and Akhyar Rashid. It was Akhyar who got the ball rolling when his run into the box drew a foul from Kyrgyzstan captain, Tamirlan Kozubaev and Safawi duly converted the penalty.
The blistering pace of Akhyar & Safawi provided constant problems to The White Falcons as they are also known. Kyrgyzstan were extremely baffled on how to contain the wingers and looked messy trying to deal with them.
After the first goal, Safawi also was involved in the next two by being the provider. Akhyar was on point again as he smashes the ball first time when he ran into the box with no one picking up on him. Malaysia then made it safe when a blistering counter saw Safawi teeing up Syafiq who knocked the ball down for the third.
Akhyar could’ve helped himself to a hat-trick after that, but the angle was against him when collected an underpowered backpass and another mazy run saw his effort getting a little too much height on it. While Akhyar and Safawi deserve so much applaud, Syafiq also deserve some credit with his work-rate to collect balls on the wings and being at the end of that counter.
Familiar Lapse
To be fair to our defence, they were rock-solid in almost the entirety of the match. They didn’t let any room for Kyrgyzstan to threaten their box at all and in some cases, forced them to take shots from outside the box. But there was always going to be that one moment that at first would seem costly. No one got near the right-wing when a cross came in and Irfan Zakaria somehow let Ernist Batyrkanov get ahead of him to head the ball in.
Thankfully that was the only mistake the defence made. But now they have to be a lot more focused than what they put out in this match as South Korea (Aided by Tottenham’s Son Heung-Min) awaits them in only two days time. And they may have to do it without Dominic Tan who was forced off injured. Though the good news is that they have three more options to call up (Adib Zainudin, Syazwan Zaipol & Rodney Celvin Akwensivie).
Captain At Hand
Kedah’s right-wing Baddrol Bakhtiar was thrust into the central midfield position as Ong Kim Swee had no other alternatives other than Selangor’s Syahmi Safari (Whose natural position isn’t even in the CM role). Still, Baddrol held his ground well. Making sure he helps out defensively and also his passing was top notch. It was Baddrol who started the plays for Malaysia’s two later goals when he found Safawi on both occasions. The experience he has proved vital. It’s a good thing he was present because his midfield partner could use some influence.
Give Nik Akif A Little Time
Kelantan’s Nik Akif Syahiran made his first competitive bow in the U-23 squad after a successful U-19 AFF Cup victory where his brace won Malaysia the final over Myanmar. The attacking midfielder though like Baddrol, was also slotted in the central midfield role. Here, he looked a tad nervous. He didn’t show a commanding presence and his creativity in which he is known for was not shown here. Unsurprisingly, his defensive duties need work too when playing in a system like this. It’s still early days though in his first outing in the U-23 team. He’s only 19 and hopefully can learn from this experience after the step-up from the U-19 squad. Although he and Baddrol, neither being known for their holding midfield duties, will be given a trial by fire on Friday.
High Pressure, Low Accuracy
Kyrgyzstan however, actually started the better of the two sides. From the get-go, they would apply the pressure in Malaysia’s own half. Even if Malaysia do get out of their own final third, Kyrgyzstan would disrupt the tempo of Malaysia’s game by using their bodies to win the ball back. It seemed to work at first with Malaysia being a little frazzled. After about 20 minutes though, they no longer applied this approach for some reason and this allowed Malaysia to get a foothold on the match.
That’s not all. Kyrgyzstan’s passing, shots and set-pieces were not that incisive. Much so that Malaysia dealt with their attacks without any too much worry. The balls they distribute looked wayward. Save for the equalizer and the chance two minutes from stoppage time where Adam Nor Azlin made a vital block to deny a second, Kyrgyzstan never looked like they were going to cause more trouble for Malaysia later on in the match.