KUALA LUMPUR (20 August 2012) – Ong Kim Swee, the chief coach of the Malaysian Under-23 team is looking forward to the SCTV Cup next month in Jakarta although he feels that it will be a different ball game against the hosts this time round.
The Malaysian U23 side – which had a smattering of veterans and also foreign players the last time – emerged easy 6-0 winners against their Indonesian counterparts in a friendly last month.
But this time round in the rematch that will be played on 9 September 2012 at the cauldron of the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Kim Swee expects the game to be a lot closer.
“One thing for sure, I think that Indonesia will be more competitive this time round,” added Kim Swee, ahead of the team’s training session which will begin tomorrow.
“They must have been ‘hurt’ after the big loss the last time we played and they would want to avoid a repeat in front of their home fans.
“But I think that we should be well-prepared as in the last game, we did not have a full squad of U23 players. We had mostly players from the U21 to add to the veterans and the foreign imports. This time, we will be using only players from the U23.”
Kim Swee, who is the coach of the Harimau Muda ‘A’ team, will be in training this week and will leave for Brunei on Friday. They will take on DPMM FC in Bandar Seri Begawan in the latest fixture of the Singapore S.League.
After their return from Brunei, the team will be back in training in Kuala Lumpur before their departure for the SCTV Cup on 5September 2012.
In the SCTV Cup, the game against the Indonesia U23 is a one-off tie and is actually a prelude to the main draw between the Indonesia national side and DPR Korea the day after at the same venue.
“It will be a good opportunity to play another competitive international game and it is always good for the players to pick up more experience,” added Kim Swee.
