Football
Nicolas Anil 7y

SEA Games: Malaysia showed 'character' vs. wounded Lions - Ong

Coach Ong Kim Swee reminded his players to cut out needless errors after seeing them come from behind to beat Singapore 2-1 in the Southeast (SEA) Asian Games on Wednesday night.

It gave Malaysia a second win in two matches to keep them on course for a spot in the semifinals of the multi-sports event on home soil.

Second-half goals from substitutes Muhammad Nor Azam Azih and N. Thanabalan gave Malaysia all three points at Shah Alam Stadium to stay second in Group A, behind Myanmar on goal difference. The two nations will face off on Monday.

Ong believes his team are still vulnerable at the back which led to Muhammad Amiruldin's sublime opener for Singapore in the first half.

"It is good that we are committing these unnecessary mistakes in the group stages. The two goals we conceded against Brunei and Singapore are faults of our own, and we have to stop them," Ong told ESPN FC.

"The two changes at half-time made the difference. We knew Singapore were wounded Lions after their first-game defeat, but we showed that we have better character than them to turn the game around."

Malaysia had beaten Brunei 2-1 on Monday, and were again made to work hard for the win after falling behind.

The bespectacled coach made six changes for this game. He saw his side dominate proceedings against a stubborn but lacklustre Singapore who only gained the upper hand when Malaysia gifted them possession for the opening goal.

Despite making wholesale changes in the second half, Ong defended his original selection, insisting that every player in the 20-man squad is worthy of a run out.

He added: "The six players I brought on are quality players. I have to be very careful in my team selection because of possible injuries and fatigue. The good thing is I have depth in my squad which allows me to rotate my squad.

"Despite the win, we are not in the semifinals yet. We play Myanmar next, and it won't be easy."

On the same day, Myanmar beat Laos 3-1 to maintain top spot. But Malaysia will go into their showdown as slight favourites in front of an expected bigger crowd than the 45,000 who turned up on Wednesday.

Thanabalan, who sent them to a dizzying frenzy of Mexican waves after firing home the winner, predicts that the home team about to face their biggest challenge so far.

"Myanmar are a fast and strong side. Many of their players featured in the U20 World Cup [in 2015], and they have been playing good football. They will be our toughest opponents in the group," Thanabalan said.

"I am proud to have scored. It was a good team effort overall, but we must not lose focus until the job is done."

Malaysia enjoyed an off-day on Thursday to recover from their exploits.

After playing Myanmar next Monday, they complete their group fixture against Laos on Aug. 23.

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