By AJITPAL SINGH & DEVINDER SINGH | nstsport@nst.com.my
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| Mohd Shakir Shaari fights for the ball against Indonesia's Andik Vermansah in their AFF Suzuki Cup match on Saturday. |
GETTING past the group stage of the AFF Suzuki Cup is no cause for celebration as that was the bare minimum for K. Rajagobal's defending champions, who can now look ahead to a mouth-watering semi-final duel with Thailand.
Malaysia made hard work of getting through from Group B, settling for the runners-up spot after a humbling 3-0 defeat in the opening match to group winners Singapore.
Rajagobal and his men copped a lot of flak for that embarrassing showing before recovering to put Laos (4-1) and Indonesia (2-0) to the sword.
But the two wins must be put in perspective -- Laos are the lowest ranked team in the tournament while Indonesia were a significantly weakened side from 2010 after fielding players almost exclusively from the weaker Indonesian Premier League and ignoring rebel Indonesian Super League players with the exception of Bambang Pamungkas.
Bambang did not even get off the bench on Saturday at the National Stadium as Malaysia got the win they needed to keep their title hopes alive.
Thailand, who arrive in Kuala Lumpur for Sunday's first leg, will be the true measure of Malaysia's strength and act as a barometer to gauge Rajagobal's oft-stated aim of qualifying for the 2015 Asian Cup.
Rajagobal probably felt relief rather than satisfaction with reaching the semi-finals when he told a news conference after Saturday's win: "Looking at Thailand, they are a very strong team.
"We are in the semis and we have nothing to lose. We will prepare and play the match rather than thinking too much about it."
Perhaps, Rajagobal realises his team are not quite the finished article he hoped they would be.
While there were several positives to take out of the win over Indonesia -- not least the performances of wingers Azamuddin Akil and Wan Zak Haikal Wan Nor, the barnstorming display of fullback Mahalli Jasuli and the alertness of goalkeeper Farizal Marlias -- Rajagobal must be concerned over strikers Safee Sali and Norshahrul Idlan Talaha.
The pair have started all three matches together but only managed one goal between them -- Safee's crucial strike against Laos which broke a 1-1 tie with 23 minutes remaining.
"The confidence came from the Laos game and we needed to win or we would not have a chance," said Rajagobal in explaining the urgency the team showed against Indonesia.
"But to get the game going, the two goals were really important. But we can see that some of the players are tired like Safee, Norshahrul and Safiq (Rahim) and were not in the normal flow of the game.
"I was concerned the game was becoming too open and so I brought in Gary (Steven Robbat) and Amar (Rohidan) to stabilise the midfield because Indonesia were sending high balls to pressure the defence," said Rajagobal.
Rajagobal reserved praise for Wan Zack and Mahalli, who created the opener for Azamuddin and scored himself from an exquisite pass off Wan Zack for his first goal for Malaysia.
Nor can the similarities with 2010, when Malaysia bounced back from an opening 5-1 defeat to Indonesia before knocking out strong favourites Vietnam in the semi-finals, be ignored.
"It looks like it's happening like that, the same scenario. Vietnam were then the defending champions and now we have Thailand. We don't have to be afraid even though Thailand have got a strong team.
"They are fast, technically sound, work as a unit and the mobility is there. Anything can happen and no one is favourite," added Rajagobal, who will be mindful that the Thais won all three of their Group A games and racked up nine goals.
Read more: AFF SUZUKI CUP: Thailand will be a true test - Soccer - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/sports/soccer/aff-suzuki-cup-thailand-will-be-a-true-test-1.180371#ixzz2Dz3zAbBS
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