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Football: Raja is game for return leg Posted: 24 Jul 2011 10:21 AM PDT 2011/07/25 Ajitpal Singh ajitpalsingh@nst.com.my Malaysia coach K. Rajagobal looking frustrated during the match against Singapore at the jalan Besar Stadium on Saturday. Singapore won the World Cup qualifier first leg 5-3. — Picture by Fariz Iswadi Ismail GAME ON! National coach K. Rajagobal used the two words to sum up Malaysia's chances of bouncing back from Saturday's 5-3 loss to Singapore in the second leg on Thursday. An amazing glut of goals in the first leg at the Jalan Besar Stadium has left this Asian Zone World Cup qualifier poised for another roller-coaster ride. Malaysia need only a 2-0 win in Bukit Jalil to go through on away goals but it is unlikely to happen as both teams are likely to tear each other's leaky defence apart. The national team are going through a bad patch as Saturday's loss is their fourth straight defeat and in three matches, they have let in 14 goals and scored only eight times. Rajagobal wants an immediate turnaround in attitude and character from his players ahead of the return leg. "My defenders looked like they were hypnotised (Saturday). They must step up. If they don't, I may have to scout for new players soon," said Rajagobal yesterday. "But credit to Singapore who played well. We paid the price for conceding sloppy goals. "However, I am confident my boys will play with more confidence and composure in front of 80,000 fans at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil." Malaysia's backline, marshalled by Mohd Fadhli Shas and Muslim Ahmad in the centre together with Mahalli Jasuli and Asraruddin Putra Omar on the right and left respectively, failed to contain the Singapore players throughout the match. Fadhli and Muslim were both blamed for allowing Singapore to score three easy goals. "I expected a better performance from my young defenders as they have the experience. Their erratic show proves that they have failed to progress in terms of tactical awareness from last December's AFF Cup," said Rajagobal, adding that he has few options in defence as former national captain Aidil Zafuan Abd Radzak is down with an ankle problem. A disappointed Fadhli said he and his teammates are having problems in communicating with each other during games. "Our relationship is great but when it comes to football, somehow, it breaks down. We tend to lose concentration and coordination in front of a large crowd. "We failed to contain the Singapore strikers in the first half and thus conceded easy goals. But we were wiser and stronger after the breather," said Fadhli, who has vowed to stop Singapore from scoring in the return leg. Fadhli's assurance is a huge relief to Rajagobal, who needs him to be at his best on Thursday. Rajagobal hopes to motivate his players by reminding them of their exploits in the AFF Cup. "Football is a crazy game. We silenced our critics by bouncing back from a 5-1 defeat to Indonesia to win the AFF Cup. "If we have done it once, we definitely can do it again," added Rajagobal. After watching his team go down to sloppy goals, Rajagobal refused to give them a break from training, upon arriving in KL. They reported for light training at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya yesterday. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search.

Football: Safee only has revenge in mind Posted: 24 Jul 2011 10:18 AM PDT Safee Sali wins an aerial battle with Singapore's Daniel Bennett (right) in their World Cup Qualifier on Saturday. Singapore won 5-3. — Picture by Fariz Iswadi Ismail. SAFEE Sali should be celebrating after scoring the fastest goal of his career on Saturday. But the only thing the striker could talk about after the 5-3 defeat to Singapore at the Jalan Besar Stadium was how much he wants to play in the second leg in Bukit Jalil on Thursday. "We will stamp our class in Bukit Jalil. I will make sure we qualify for the third round of this competition (World Cup Qualifiers)," said Safee in Singapore yesterday. Safee, who plays in the Indonesian Super League with Pelita Jaya FC, had previously never scored against Singapore in a senior-level match. But on Saturday, it took him only 26 seconds to give Malaysia a dream start before adding his second 20 minutes from time. "We still have a good chance as we have 90 minutes of football left. We may have lost but we scored three important away goals. I am confident we will bounce back in the second leg," said the 27-year-old. Safee was unstoppable upfront as besides scoring two goals, he also created several chances for his teammates, who wasted all of them. It could have been a different story if the injured Norshahrul Idlan Talaha had played. The Kelantan striker, who is down with a hamstring injury, will also miss the second leg. Norshahrul's replacement Ahmad Fakri Saraani played alongside Safee but the Negri Sembilan striker was ineffective. National coach K. Rajagobal eventually replaced Ahmad with Super League top-scorer Abdul Hadi Yahya who scored five minutes after coming on in the 64th minute. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search.

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