Malaysia stumble; Thailand win again

13 November, 2014


Former champions Malaysia have suffered a double blow ahead of this month’s AFF Suzuki Cup with a 3-0 home defeat by Syria coming on the heels of news that influential midfielder Safiq Rahim could miss the tournament through injury.

Malaysia went into Wednesday’s match against Syria after a week of intensive training but failed to deliver the confidence-boosting performance called for by coach Dollah Salleh.

Nadim Sabagh gave Syria an early lead and they built on their advantage with second-half goals from Sanharib Malki and Omar Khribin.

The home side were reduced to 10 men with eight minutes remaining when Fadhli Shas was red carded.

Dollah revealed before the match that Safiq, who skippered the side to victory in the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup, could miss the tournament with a knee injury.

“Safiq may miss the Suzuki Cup but I’m hoping for him to recover in time,” Dollah told local media.

“If Safiq fails to make the squad, it will be a setback for us because of his experience and ability in set-pieces.”

Ahead of Wednesday’s match, Dollah and several of his squad were present at AEON AU2 Setiawanga in Kuala Lumpur for the latest stop on the AFF Suzuki Cup Trophy Tour.

Thailand, who take on Malaysia, co-hosts Singapore and qualifiers Myanmar in Group B from November 23, won their second straight warm-up match on Wednesday.

The three-time champions followed up their 3-0 win over the Philippines with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Thai First Division champions Nakhon Ratchasima.

Captain Adul Lasoh and striker Adisak Kraisorn, who both missed the win over the Philippines, were named in the starting line-up and creative midfielder Charyl Chappuis was handed a more forward role.

Thailand, impressive on the counter attack against the Azkals, faced a well-drilled defence and struggled to find a way through.

The chances they did create were squandered by Chappuis who lacked composure in the box.

It was left to substitute Chanathip Songkrasin to break the deadlock, and show why he is nicknamed “Messi-J”, with a magical goal in the 72nd minute. He cleverly made room for himself on the edge of the box and fired a stinging left foot shot into the bottom corner of the net.

In their final warm-up matches, Malaysia take on Vietnam in Hanoi on November 16 while Thailand meet New Zealand in Nakhon Ratchasima two days later.

Original source - www.affsuzukicup.com