Malaysia must play with no fear

HANOI: National head coach Tan Cheng Hoe was cool, calm and composed when answering a barrage of questions from the Vietnamese media, Friday.Now, if only the Harimau Malaya players can replicate that when they take to the field against red-hot favourites Vietnam in Saturday's AFF Suzuki Cup 2018 final, return-leg clash at the My Dinh Stadium here.

Cheng Hoe knows the pressure-cooker atmosphere that awaits his men at the My Dinh Stadium as they go looking for a win.

Or, at worst, at least a 2-2 draw and take the game into extra time.

Of course any other higher scoring draw – for example 3-3, 4-4 and so on – will be just fine with Malaysia as they will win on the away-goal rule.

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This is because both teams had drawn 2-2 in the first leg at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Tuesday.

So, can Cheng Hoe's men accomplish what many think is going to be mission impossible?

Well, at least the coach, looking composed in his grey shirt, seemed to think so as he exuded confidence amidst the glare of spotlight trained on him at the post-match press conference Friday.

He said that except for left back Nazirul Naim Che Hashim, who is down with a thigh injury, the rest were all primed for action.

"I have faith in all my players. They are all motivated for tomorrow night's match.

"Playing in front of the away fans is definitely different. But we have experienced it before and even got some good results," he said.

Cheng Hoe, 50, reminded his players not to repeat the mistakes which led to Vietnam scoring in their last two meetings, including in the 0-2 loss to the Golden Dragons in their Group A match last month.

"We must be focused and wary of their attacks. What is important, though, is that my players must learn to enjoy the game, soak in the atmosphere and play with no pressure," he said.

Malaysia are just one match away from lifting the Cup for a second time since 2010, when then coach Datuk K. Rajagobal guided the Harimau Malaya to a 4-2 aggregate win over Indonesia in the final. Meanwhile, former national coach, B. Sathianathan urged the Harimau Malaya squad to never underestimate the attacking ability of Vietnam.

He said in front of tens of thousands of supporters, Vietnam coached by Park Hang-Seo would have come up with more aggressive attacking tactics compared to the first-leg match which ended in a 2-2 draw.

He added that Malaysia's defence will face a tough 90 minutes if they do not carefully read and contain the Golden Dragon squad's attack.

"Malaysia have to score the first goal and force the opponents to break their defensive line. In the first-leg, their defence remained in position and they only used the long passes to trick our defence with their quick counter-attacks.

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"In Hanoi, it is likely that they will try to get the first goal to control the game... with the speed of the Vietnamese players, they have the ability to make more aggressive attacks. So we have to be careful and must score goals immediately when they open their space," he said.

In the first-leg final witnessed by more than 88,000 supporters, Malaysia bounced back from 0-2 down to record a 2-2 draw, with the goals coming from a Shahrul Mohd Saad header and a neat spot kick by Muhammad Safawi Rasid. – Bernama

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