Just A Few Things: Bahrain Vs. Malaysia

It Was Going So Well...

Malaysia set about that short-passing game against a Bahrain side that is capable to close down quickly. Throughout the first half, Malaysia has shown some grit and slick passing to give Bahrain something to think about to the point they limited to them to counter-attacks as well as showing decent composure to Bahrain’s pressing. And then, we accidentally shot ourselves in one foot when Irfan Zakaria needlessly hugged a Bahrain player and dragged him down inside the box to give away the penalty that led to Bahrain’s first goal.

When the second half came along, Malaysia set about to continue to find the equalizer. But on the hour mark, the usually reliable goalkeeper Farizal Marlias made a rare yet horror mistake when his sloppy first touch gifter Bahrain the second goal. As a result, that had sapped the fight out of the Harimau Malaya and they couldn’t replicate the bright first-half fight they showed. It was looking so promising only for us to shoot ourselves in both feet after overplaying with the gun. Luckily it was only a friendly match, but they can’t afford to do this again in a brutal fixture run-up in the qualifiers that have no room for error.

Liridon Fits Right In

This is Liridon Krasniqi’s first start for the Harimau Malaya and he has looked impressive. Along with the physical ability to hold the ball and keep possession for Malaysia, the naturalized midfielder also has shown neat touches to take the ball away from a pressing Bahrain defender and in some cases, even getting away from two or three Bahrain players who are looking to pressure him. His passing even bamboozled the Bahrain defence on a few occasions, but alas, nothing else came afterwards. One thing is clear though that Liridon has contributed something big to the national team.

And also keep in mind that Tan Cheng Hoe (TCH) and Liridon have worked together before when they were with Kedah from 2015-17. So if there’s one head coach who can understand Liridon better than anyone, it’s TCH. Liridon perhaps at least can leave the game with his head up high.

Davies On The Attack

If there’s ever one other player who deserves plaudits, it’s Matthew Davies. The right-back was perhaps the most hardworking of all the players as he bombed down the right and looked effective to provide attacking impetus. He made numerous dangerous crosses into the box that troubled the Bahrain defence. Sadly, none of them was taken advantage of.

The closest and most glaring of them all was just before half-time when Davies perfectly found Syafiq Ahmad. Sadly, the striker couldn’t get his header right from close range. Imagine what could’ve been had that gone in. Still, the right-back has at least showed a good case he deserves to be starting ahead of Syahmi Safari and Rizal Ghazali for the UAE match at least.

Sobering Performances

For all the positives, some of the key players alarmingly did not give a favourable impression with the time they were given on the pitch. Such players such as Safawi Rasid and Mohamadou Sumareh, unfortunately, didn’t contribute must despite the glimmers of pace they showed early in the first half with Safawi’s night perfectly summed by getting himself sent off AFTER being subbed off for protesting a referee decision a little heated that warranted a second yellow card. Luckily, red cards from friendlies don’t carry over to the qualifiers.

Meanwhile in midfield, Nor Azam Azih couldn’t deliver the same quality passes from deep and struggled to influence the midfield as Malaysia’s middle three couldn’t find the right rhythm while left-back La’vere Corbin-Ong had one of those days.

Chalk it up to a lack of match fitness, a lack of chemistry, the slippery pitch condition, a bad night or whatever. But the players need to buck up and get sharp as quickly as possible. We hope this performance was just a one-off because we need everyone to up their game once qualifying restarts.

There Might Be Some Hope

From this game, there are at least a few players who surely will start against the United Arab Emirates such as Liridon and Davies while there will be surely some nervousness toward a few others given what we’ve seen. If only the team met up much earlier for centralized training.

There’s no doubt the result and the way it came about wasn’t pleasing. However, given how we played in this match, it’s clear they are trying to play the way we have seen before with that slick short-passing game. They did well showing a decent preview of that even if they faded away in the final 30 minutes. The signs are there it is trying to break free and show us what it truly can do. If that attack livens up and the midfield shows much more solidity along with the chemistry getting better, we do stand a chance to pull off a surprise. So we have to hope they will eventually emerge when we need them the most.

Yes, in some cases, it’s the hope that kills you. But at the same time, all we can do as fans is to support and really hope the team can make us proud. It would be a massive shame to miss out after being in the best position in a World Cup/Asia Cup qualifying campaign in a long time.

So, c’mon Harimau Malaya. We know you are way better than this. You can do this.

THIS ARTICLE IS POWERED BY CYBERLYNX INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE: EDUCATION FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM