KUALA LUMPUR, July 5 — The national squad need to sharpen their attack when they take on Indonesia in the 2022 Women’s Asean Football Federation (AFF) Championship tomorrow, said chief coach Jacob Joseph.
He said the Malayan Tigress could not afford to be firing blanks again in their Group A match in Manila, the Philippines, following their goalless draw with Singapore yesterday.
The national squad had also failed to find the net in two friendlies ahead of the tournament, losing 0 - 6 and drawing 0 - 0 with Bangladesh in Dhaka recently.
“I had hoped for three points against Singapore but got only one. They (Malaysia) were quite disorganised, from midfield to attack. Maybe it is because it was their first match.
“The main problem was our transition from defence to midfield. In today’s training, I will do some fast counter-attacks into the opponents’ attacking zone,” he told an online press conference today.
Jacob admitted that Indonesia looked well prepared against Thailand yesterday despite losing 0 - 4.
Indonesia showed great fighting spirit and teamwork, something the Malayan Tigress could emulate, he added.
“I could see the players were very committed and played as a team. It is very important for our team to overcome the Indonesians, as their defenders are very strong. I hope we can get a point against Indonesia,” he added.
After playing Indonesia, Malaysia will meet the Philippines (July 8), the most crowned team and 2019 runners-up Thailand (July 10) and Australia on July 12.
— Bernama
