SEA GAMES 2011: MYANMAR TO COUNT ON INDONESIAN SUPPORT

JAKARTA (19 Nov 2011) – Myanmar will not be short of support when they clash against defending champions Malaysia in the semi-finals of the men’s football event later today at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

Stefan Hansson, the chief coach of Myanmar, said that given the sentiment of the Indonesian supporters against Malaysia, they hope that they can rely on it to disrupt the Malaysian game and rattle them enough to make mistakes.

“I believe that we will have a lot of support (from Indonesia) when we play Malaysia,” said Hansson. “It is an unfortunate situation but I think that it will work in our favour and we hope that we can take advantage of the situation to make the final again.

“We have prepared the team as well as possible where for us; there will not be any special tactical arrangement for any particular player. We will just play our usual game.”

Hansson said that if Myanmar hope to make the final of the event they last made in 2007 in Thailand, the team will have to be more disciplined and not lose their tactical composure against one of the better organised teams in the competition.

“I have seen Malaysia played several times, and while their forwards maybe a little lackadaisical at times, they are well organised at the back. Just look at their last match against Indonesia,” added Hansson.

“They were steady even though they were under a lot of pressure. So for us, we have little choice but to put their defence under even more pressure. And I hope that the fans in red will keep cheering us on.”

SEA GAMES 2011 SEMI-FINALS FIXTURES