Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Football: Down and out, again

THE national Under-23 team are out of the Sea Games after only managing a draw, when a win was what they needed, against Singapore in their final Group B match yesterday.

The match ended 1-1, a result which took Singapore through and left Malaysia with the task of packing for an early flight home when the final was the target.

Coach B. Sathianathan gave the same tired excuses, blaming the players for making a silly mistake when leading.

“The players tried their best. It was a hard game but after we took the lead, we should have focused on maintaining it. Instead, we conceded a goal through a silly mistake.

“We can’t do that, not at any level as we are sure to be punished. We were and elimination is hard to accept as we have four points but what else can we do other than focus on the future,” said Sathianathan.
Amirul Hadi Zainal had put Malaysia in the lead with a header in the 71st minute but Singapore equalised through Nigerian import Agu Casmir 10 minutes later.

Singapore play Thailand in Tuesday’s semi-finals while Vietnam are up against Myanmar.

NST 9 Dec 2007

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