SEA GAMES 2011: MALAYSIA'S FIGHT FAR FROM OVER

JAKARTA (10 Nov 2011) – Malaysia performed remarkably to defeat Thailand yesterday and get themselves back in the title hunt. Their fight to defend the gold however is far from over. In fact, after beating the Thais yesterday, the Malaysians can expect their remaining opponents in the group round, Cambodia and Indonesia, to give them a tough time at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

Malaysian coach Ong Kim Swee, himself a cool and composed person, will have to manage his players from being over confident as they prepare for the group’s weakest team, Cambodia, in three days’ time. It will be tough to not let it go to their heads when fans back home are singing praises of the team’s performance against Thailand.

“The switch to the younger players seems to have the desired effect. But on the whole, it was a team effort and the boys showed what they can after what was felt as a poor performance against Singapore in the first game,” said Kim Swee after the match.

The Cambodians were whipped by Indonesia and on paper the Malaysians look to have the clear advantage. But as Kim Swee only knows too well, especially after their drab draw against Singapore in the opener, anything could happen on Nov 13.

“I just don’t want the players to be over-confident against Cambodia. Anything can happen in the 90 minutes,” Kim Swee commented. He added that the players had to put aside the big loss Cambodia suffered and focus on the match itself.

Cambodia were playing their first match against Indonesia and were likely overawed by the atmosphere and that may have affected their game. Against Malaysia, they would have recovered and should put on a better show. They are likely to come out fighting to try and make up for the opening defeat.

Malaysia cannot afford to take the game lightly for only another win will strengthen their hopes of making the semifinals. Against Cambodia, the Malaysian strikers will have one more chance to work on their sharpness which was clearly missing against Thailand.

They must surely know that against Indonesia on Nov 17, they will have far fewer chances to score and must quickly improve or pay dearly for it.

SEA GAMES 2011 RESULTS and FIXTURES

GROUP A