I've got two upcoming friendlies against Turkmenistan (89th) and Lebanon (125th) in April 2019. Our Under 23s are also having a tournament, Under 23 Asian Nations Cup, around that period so I'll be giving them priority over the player selections. We've moved slightly up the rankings to 82nd. Hopefully, with a string of good results, we can break into the top 75? Wishful thinking on my part, but definitely possible within the next few years. :)
First up, we've got Turkmenistan visiting us at Shah Alam Stadium. It can actually hold a little more than 80,000 people. I hope our fans turn up and encourage the boys. Turkmenistan will be playing 4-5-1 with all eyes on Slavia Prague midfielder - Ruslan Mingazov. He's good with his left foot but can play on both wings. I hope our boys can contain him in our next match.
I called up my 23 players and there were many new faces. A total of 9 potential debutants for Harimau Malaya. Among the familiar faces were Matthew Davies (24 yers old), Saddam El-Hafedz Shahri (23 years old) and Brendan Gan (30 years old). I've also taken Tan Cheng Hoe's advice to drop some of my regulars, including Abhishek Pannierselvam (DC), Haji Mohd Yusop (ST) and Gonzalo Gnanalingam (DM).
The first 45 minutes was dull with not much goalmouth action, other than Merdan Hasanow (ST) missing a wide open shot with just the goalkeeper to beat. Ibrahim Salleh (ST) was really underperforming (6.3) so I decided to swap him out and give Muhd Nabil Shariff his debut. In came Syafiq Hossain (AMC) for Mohd Faizal Azeman (6.4) as well.
Our breakthrough finally came in the 54th minute. After a few attempts of trying to get the ball into the penalty box, Lee Jinxiang (AMR) crossed the ball to Shariff. He sent in a powerful volley and we broke the deadlock! He scores on his debut. I'm delighted for him. :)
Before long, Shariff doubled his tally from a freekick from Rahim Osman (AML). He capitalized on the confusion among their defense and poor Amir Geldiyew had to pick the ball out from his net again.
I decided to send in my last substitute, giving Muhd Haikal Haziq Razali his debut in goal with around 20 minutes left. Unfortunately, Mingazov's quality shown through as he sent in a quick cross from the left. Guwanç Metdaýew headed in from a tight angle and Razali was too slow to react. They managed to half the deficit. Are we in for a nervy few minutes in the end? It's a friendly after all.
They were all over the park while we concentrated in the center. Mingazov won the man of the match after having a killer game. He attempted 15 crosses and managed 5 dribbles! Certainly a guy I wouldn't mind having on my team.
We'll be traveling up north to Penang for the match against Lebanon. Our staff team isn't too familiar with the team, with only Joan Oumari (30 years old) playing in defense.
Our Under 23s have been doing pretty well, winning their opening matches and currently topping group H. Unfortunately, Luqman Hussain (AML) pulled his hamstring in the match against Hong Kong (China PR) Under 23s. Let's hope that our Under 23s brings home another trophy after securing the Asian Games Football Tournament last year.
from where it all started, right up to now.
