*’What was planned in training was missing’ – Dollah
‘It was only a 30 to 40 per cent effort from our players’ – Dollah
National football coach Dollah Salleh has his hands full and the 1-1 draw against Timor Leste in their opening 2018 World Cup qualifier Asian Zone match at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil speaks of his frustration.
More so when Timor Lester snatched a draw deep into injury time through Ramon Saro after Safee Sali had given Malaysia the lead on 33 minutes. The outcome leaves Malaysia wondering will be the outcome when they face Palestine at the same venue on Tuesday.
What irked Dollah is that his team gave only “30 to 40 per cent” effort on a night when Malaysia’s perennial problem – poor finishing – stood out like a sore thumb.
“What we saw of the team against Timor Leste was not what we did in training. We dished out only 30 to 40 per cent of what we planned and did in training. This is frustrating,” said a disappointed Dollah.
It was for all to see that the national team simply “lacked chemistry” and what made it more disappointing for Dollah was that he had his best team against Timor Leste.
“We had all the chances but failed to make it count…what more when we were playing at home. You cannot afford to waste such chances. “
In fact Malaysia could have ended up loser on the night if Patrick Fabiano’s goal just before halftime had not been ruled offside.
Palestine are no easy opponents either – more so when you have the Arab powerhouses like Saudia Arabia and United Arab Emirates for company in the World Cup campaign.
Let us see if Malaysia could get a positive result against the Palestinians on Tuesday.
