Maloney: ‘Penalties and red cards make Malaysia lose to Vietnam’

“Malaysia started well. Even when we conceded the first goal in the 28th minute, we still managed to play as we wanted. But being awarded a penalty and then losing in injury time in the first half had a negative impact on the team. Malaysia’s mentality and quality of play, and we lost the game. I’m very disappointed,” Maloney said at a press conference after the match at Lokomotiv Stadium.

Disqualified because they lost the first two rounds, Malaysia still set their determination when entering the match against Vietnam in the hope of winning to leave with honor. But that determination only helped them play well in the first 10 minutes of the game. From about 20 minutes, coach Maloney’s army gradually fell to the ground and conceded the first goal in the 28th minute after a coordinated situation to turn the wing to head the match between Thanh Nhan and Nham Manh Dung.

Malaysia then still had some tit-for-tat situations with Vietnam, but at the end of the first half, they were awarded a penalty and lost after Hairiey Hakim let the ball touch his hand in the penalty area. Although goalkeeper Firdaus Irman blocked Bui Hoang Viet Anh’s first kick, Malaysia still conceded a second goal, when the Vietnamese captain’s central defender hit the back stone.

“Congratulations to Vietnam for winning the match. But I don’t understand why the referee gave Hairiey a red card in that situation. I need to watch the video again before commenting more,” added Mr. Maloney, wondering about his studies. game disqualified.

Compared to the previous two matches – drawing with Thailand and then Korea, today Vietnam played an active attack in the first half with a very active midfield rising. However, Maloney insisted that he was not surprised by this change of his colleague Gong Oh-kyun. “Vietnam must win to have the door to continue, so they have to change in the direction of attack more,” said the Australian coach.

In the second half, in a losing position, Malaysia did not have many opportunities to get on the ball to raise hopes of reversing the situation. They also have to rely on luck because the Vietnamese strikers did not take advantage of the opportunity to widen the gap. The 0-2 defeat caused Malaysia to leave the tournament with three defeats.

“It is true that we did not get the results we wanted at this tournament. But I believe that with the past three matches, it is still a rewarding experience, and the young Malaysian players all leave with good lessons for the stage. their own next path,” added coach Maloney.

Lam Tho (from Tashkent)