Hello readers (if there are anyone, haha),
Im still gutted. Why? Because its end of the journey for our national football team in AFF Suzuki Cup. We've failed to defend the crown that we won two years ago after losing 2-0 to Thailand yesterday.
I've waited. I put so much of hopes for this game. I saved RM50 to watch Harimau Malaya in the final. Haha, when Thailand scored the first goal, my heart was crushed. When the referee blew the final whistle, i just cant describe that feeling. I felt that it is more painful than losing a girlfriend. Haha, YES,IM A BIG FAN OF HARIMAU MALAYA and FOOTBALL. And I wish to be a sports journalist too.
Speaking about the match, I was quite pissed with the referee. I'm as sure as I'm sitting down now that everyone felt the same too. Even the commentator on ESPN. The first ten minutes, he already showed a yellow card to both Mahalli Jasuli and Fadhli when its only their first foul of the game. And on the 43th minute, Fadhli was shown a second yellow card by the referee from Korea, and I was like What the F***. The referee should've stopped the match once the Thai's player hit Fadhli on the shoulder. He as a referee, cant even control the match. And the best decision he can give is warning and talked to the players nicely. And in the end must make sure both of them shook hand to decrease the intensity of the game. But no, second yellow to Fadhli was shown. Therefore, it was a huge advantage for Thailand and they're in total control in the second half.
So, yeah. That was what I thought the turning point of the game. If Malaysia wasnt shown the red card by the referee, I believe the scoreline will be different. However, I was quite surprised that Datuk Rajagopal started the match with a 4-5-1 formation instead of 4-4-2 formation when what we needed in Thailand was at least a goal. Even with 11mens, Malaysia was barely attacking Thailand in the first half too. Besides that, Datuk Rajagopal should've put Faizal on once the second half started. Clearly, putting Amar Rohidan as a centreback giving him a huge pressure as he is not a natural centreback. And the first goal was clearly his mistake. But anyway, i hope FAM wont sack Datuk Rajagopal. He have done so much for our national football team. Just dont because of one failure, he must be given the boots. Best example, look at Manchester United, how much faith they put on to Sir Alex Ferguson.
As a result, Malaysia have alot of good players I believe. Players like Piya, Muslim Ahmad, K.Gurusamy, Rozaimi, Steve Yong and many more should be consider in the future squad.
Hopefully, Malaysia will do better in the AFC Cup. SELAMA-LAMANYA,HARIMAU MALAYA.