Coach Maloney: ‘Want to solve Vietnam in 90 minutes’

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“We just played three days ago. That match of course I adjusted some positions. Having just arrived here, we are not prepared much. But we want to go as far as possible. No team wants to. The match lasts the whole game. I want to finish it in 90 minutes,” coach Maloney said at a press conference on the morning of May 18 at Viet Tri Stadium about the preparation process for Malaysia. “This is not a matter of confidence or not. No one wants to play more than 90 minutes. We will have to face talented Vietnamese players, but we are ready. We will play well for 90 minutes. “.

Malaysia started the 31st SEA Games spectacularly with a 2-1 victory over Thailand, and then continuously led Group B. However, letting Cambodia hold a draw in the final series made Malaysia fall to second, meeting the host. Vietnam in the semi-finals. According to Malaysian media, their team has chosen a difficult path because Vietnam is the host and possesses a quality team of players.

Yesterday, Malaysia moved from Nam Dinh to Phu Tho. Due to being late, they canceled the afternoon practice session of the same day. Coach Maloney’s army will only have one training session before the match against Vietnam. They also have a slight disadvantage in terms of the yard, when they can only walk and get acquainted with the space of Viet Tri field – where the Vietnamese host played four matches here.

However, coach Maloney insists he is not disappointed with what happened and has never had the thought of avoiding the host. “I just said I will try my best against strong opponents. I always appreciate Vietnam,” he said. “We only have one training session in Phu Tho. Of course it’s a bit difficult. But we will try to prepare the best for the match.”

Regarding the Vietnamese opponent, the Australian military leader considers it to be a strong opponent with many good players, especially three older players Do Hung Dung, Nguyen Hoang Duc and Nguyen Tien Linh. He and his students will have to analyze and find a reasonable strategy.

Regarding not calling players over 23 years old, he said: “I repeat that if you want to win the championship, you must defeat strong opponents. Meeting the host is also natural. I have great respect for the host Vietnam, the opponent. the strongest in this tournament even though we didn’t top the group we still made it to the semi-finals Young players have more opportunities and experience to prepare for the Asian U23. Winning the SEA Games is important, but also preparing for the future.”

Lam Tho