The Malaysia Experiment - Twice In A Row?

We face Singapore, won their semifinal against Myanmar, in the finals. Frankly speaking, I wasn't really looking forward to this match as Hafiz Azman (AMC) injured himself during training while kicking the ball. This throws my plans into disarray, forcing me to use a makeshift lineup.

After much deliberation, I finally decided to play a 4-1-4-1 DM formation. I do have two fit strikers and both of them are very good footballers; but my concern is just that if one of them gets injured, I've got no more strikers left on the bench. In this formation, only Luqman Hussain (AML) is playing out of position. Singapore will be in their usual 4-1-2-3 DM Wide formation, which they have also used in our past two meetings.

True enough, the first half provided no highlights at all! I can't expect goals with such a defensive formation but I do expect the boys to win this leg. I urged them to play with more urgency in the second half even if there's a capcity crowd cheering the home team on. It'll be great if we could bring home an away goal.

I finally brought on another striker in place of my defensive midfielder, changing my formation to the classic 4-4-2. Benjamin Ibrahim, who has been great so far in this tournament, was pretty underwhelming on the night so I subbed in Mohd Azfar Kuddy for him. By the 90th minute, I was conceding to the fact that we just didn't wear our striking boots today. I took comfort in the fact that none of my boys that were a yellow card from suspension picked up a booking.

In the second minute of injury time, Kuddy raced forward with the ball and crossed it in right at the byline. Hussain flies in with a header but Izwan Mahbud (GK) was on hand with a save. Jasni Abidin, my second half substitute, was at the right place at the right time. He spared no mercy to the sprawling goalkeeper and blasted the ball into the net. We managed a last-gasp winner!

Now, we're in a great position as we welcome Singapore to Bukit Jalil Stadium three days later.