LAHORE – Visiting Malaysian football team coach Ong Kim Swee believes that Pakistan’s discipline is the most potent threat to his team in the Olympics Qualifying second leg match, that will be played today (Wednesday) at 8 pm here at the Punjab Stadium. Pakistan lag behind by two goals, and even a draw would send Malaysia into the next round. Pakistan require a 3-0 win to acquire a place in the next stage. Pakistan lost the first leg match in Malaysia 2-0.
Although aware of the fact that even a draw would earn them a place in the next round, Malaysian coach Ong Kim said that he would not be defensive. “I like my team to play an aggressive game and our planning would be according to the strategy adopted by the Pakistan team during the match,” he said.
Pakistan and Malaysia have faced each other seven times and Pakistan have won only once. However, Pakistan coach Tariq Lutfi believes that the recent two friendly matches against Palestine have given his young team the confidence to excel in international matches. Last week, Pakistan lost 2-1 to Palestine at the Punjab Stadium, but held them to a goalless draw in the second match at Karachi.
“The team needs international exposure, and with experience they will start producing good results. All they need is one good match to boost their confidence,” said Lutfi.
“They are a young team and have been together for just the last 50 days. After losing to Palestine in the opening match, they drew the second. They need time to settle and it would be wrong to expect something big,” said he. “Once they develop the mental strength, they would start giving tough time to superior opponents from far eastern countries,” he added.
Lutfi further stated that Pakistan would be playing aggressively in the last match of the Qualifiers, and don’t have the option to go defensive.
Meanwhile, Ong Kim Swee said a good game would be witnesses and hoped that the best team wins. He further said that the final line-up would be decided on the day of the match. His team has been doing well in the recent events and know their work quite well, he added.
Malaysia is the winner of the SEA Games. “Pakistan’s progress depends on the instructions they follow and we will plan to counter those plans,” he added.
Pakistan team Captain Jadeed Khan believes that the matches against Palestine have given his team valuable experience that would improve their performance against Malaysia, and they would try to take full advantage of the home conditions. The Malaysia captain said that his match strategy would come from his coach and that’s how his team will play.
