JOHOR BARU, June 5 — National coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee wants his charges to keep their feet firmly on the ground when facing Timor Leste in the second leg of the 2019 Asian Games playoff tomorrow despite scoring a convincing 3-0 win in the first leg three days ago.

Ong Kim Swee: ‘We do not know what Timor Leste has done after the defeat.’ — Bernama file pic

“We must remain cautious and be prepared for the return leg and not be over-confident because we do not know what Timor Leste has done after the defeat,” he told reporters here today.

Kim Swee said Malaysia may adopt the same strategy when facing Timor Leste in the second leg but much would depend on the situation of the match tomorrow.

“If I need to change the strategy during the game, I will have to do it. Timor Leste would have done their homework after the first-leg defeat, so we need not necessarily follow the same format or strategy,” he said.

He said Brendan Gan and Shahrom Kalam who suffered injuries during the 3-0 win, were recovering well, however, much would depend on their fitness in training and that includes Izham Tarmizi who also suffered an ankle injury.

Malaysia play Timor Leste at the Larkin Stadium in Johor. — Bernama