Malaysia national soccer team coach Kim Pan-gon said, “I was satisfied with beating Thailand in the first leg of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Mitsubishi Electric Cup (Mitsubishi Cup) semi-final, but regretted that I was able to score more goals.”
According to the local Bernama News Agency and the New Straight Times, coach Kim said at a press conference following the game once morest Thailand held at Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the followingnoon of the 7th, “1-0 is not enough.
“It’s a home game and I should have played more,” he said, “but I’m happy with the win.”
“There were scoring opportunities.
It might have been 3-0,” he said. “But the players are people too and made mistakes.
I hope the players recover quickly.”
The win put Malaysia in an advantageous position towards the final.
On the 10th, the two teams will compete to advance to the final by playing the second game at Thammasat Stadium in Pathum Thani, Thailand.
Thailand is the most winning team in the tournament (six times), and stood at the top in the previous tournament.
Coach Kim said, “Thailand was a strong team.
“It wasn’t easy,” he said, “we tried to press, but everything was difficult.”
In fact, Thailand had a 70%-30% advantage in ball possession in the first half, and overwhelmed the opponent with 16 (effective shots 2)-3 (effective shots 1) in the number of shots.
However, all of them turned away from the goal post or were blocked by the defensive wall and returned to nothing.
Faisal Halim opened the scoring in the 11th minute of the first half, and Malaysia almost scored an additional goal in the second half.
In the 10th minute of the second half, in a free kick situation, Thai goalkeeper Kitipong Putachuek, who came forward to the goal, failed to clear the ball properly, and Dominic Tan’s header went straight into the goal.
However, referee Kim Dae-yong later canceled the goal, saying there was a foul by Malaysia before the goal was scored.
In response to a reporter’s question regarding this scene, director Kim said, “I didn’t see the scene in question properly.
There’s nothing more I can say,” he said.
Coach Kim did not forget to praise the players.
“I am satisfied with the players overcoming difficult situations,” he said. “I am proud of the players.
Malaysian football fans should be proud of their players.”
He added, “I will recover quickly and prepare for the second game,” adding, “I had a tough game today, but the second game will be a much more difficult game.”
/yunhap news
