SINGAPORE (28 Nov 2014) – Unless Myanmar upsets the odds and stuns favourites Thailand tomorrow evening, the battle between Singapore and Malaysia will decide which second team from Group B advances to the last four.
On paper, Thailand should defeat Myanmar but then again, anything can happen. “Who knows what will happen in that match (Thailand vs Myanmar). It is up to us to focus on our game and our strategy,” said Stange at the pre-match conference today.
But Stange’s plans have been stumped by the absence of centreback Baihakki Khaizan and Shahdan Sulaiman. Baihakki picked up his second booking and is out on a mandatory one-game suspension while Shahdan broke his ankle in the match against Myanmar and will be out for at least six months.
“We have 20 players to pick from but Baihakki and Shahdan are key players so their loss is big. I need to find two others to replace these key players,” said Stange who added he would probably decide on the replacements after today’s training session.
The German coach warned that Malaysia was extremely dangerous and they had to be prepared. “We know them very well, I have information from coach Aide (Iskandar) and Fandi (Ahmad) but they also know us very well.”
“I’m looking forward to a great football day. It’s derby and with a full stadium, this is chance to win over the hearts of the Singaporean fans. We are focused and committed to this game.”
Malaysian coach Dollah Salleh was also upbest about the match and said he wanted to give something back to the Malaysian fans. “We desperately need a win and we know it will not be easy especially with such a large number of fans, maybe 30 or 40 thousand of them. But we will give our very best.”
