HANOI, May 20 — National Under-23 football team head coach Brad Maloney is proud of his fearless side that fought hard in the 31st SEA Games men’s football semi-final defeat to defending champions Vietnam at the Viet Tri Stadium in Phu Tho province last night.
Maloney said his boys had given everything to try to overcome the hosts, who are coached by South Korean Park Hang Seo.
“First and foremost I’m incredibly proud of my players. They worked extremely hard, played their hearts out and really gave everything they got. So as we are aware, we did have one less day of recovery and travel time in between this match and the previous one.
“So for my players to go out there and play 120 minutes against what I see as the best team in the competition and just concede one late goal like that … I’m incredibly proud of them,” he told a post-match press conference.
Malaysia lost 0-1 after striker Nguyen Tien Linh turned hero for Vietnam by heading in a corner kick in the 111th minute, thus bringing his team to the final.
Maloney said despite facing Vietnam’s fast and aggressive play for 120 minutes, his side never succumbed to pressure and did not give up.
He said it was devastating to be eliminated from the competition after conceding a late goal in a keenly contested match.
“It’s very difficult to accept but in the same token we understand that Vietnam is the best team in the competition,” he said.
Maloney admitted that last night’s match became more difficult after some of his players suffered injuries, including defender Harith Haiqal Adam Afkar who had to be taken out despite playing brilliantly.
“Never easy losing key players. Obviously, he (Harith Haiqal) has been a leader there in the backline and he organised his people in front of him as well.
“Our goalkeeper (Muhammad Azri Ab Ghani) was also carrying an injury from early on in the match and one or two other players had to be (similarly) substituted. It’s not ideal, but I do feel that the players that did replace them did a good job,” he said.
Malaysia will take on Indonesia, who lost to Thailand in the other semi-final yesterday, in the bronze medal match scheduled to take place at the My Dinh National Stadium here on Sunday.
— Bernama
