MANAF IMPRESSES RAJAGOBAL

PETALING JAYA (13 Sept 2009) – Striker Abdul Manaf Mamat has impressed Malaysian head coach K. Rajagobal where his two-goal on the weekend helped the Under-23 team to a 5-0 win over Lesotho in a friendly.

“Manaf was with me when I was handling the U16 team (in 2004). I dropped him to give him a chance to develop and show to me what he’s worth,“ said Rajagobal (pix).

The team which is being prepared for the SEA Games in Laos have decided on a series of friendlies in their run-up to the region’s biggest sporting event as opposed to taking part in a competitive atmosphere.

The Malaysians who have been struggling with the strike force of late, were again late off the block when they opened account only in the 43rd minute when striker Zaquan Adha Abd Radzak made good on a defensive error before Norshahrul Idlan Talaha added the second goal a few minutes later.

Substitute Manaf then blasted in two goals in the 83rd and 90th minute as Amirulhadi Zainal then contributed the other for the final score line.