HANOI, Dec 16 — Harimau Malaya head coach Tan Cheng Hoe admitted that the early goal by Vietnam in the second leg of the AFF Suzuki 2018 Cup finals between Malaysia and Vietnam tonight, ‘destroyed’ all his plans for the game.
In the match which took place at My Dinh Stadium here, Malaysia missed its best chance to win the most prestigious football championship in the Southeast Asian region after a 0-1 loss to the home side resulted in the Harimau Malaya losing 2- 3 an aggregate.
Cheng Hoe, in his post-match press conference here said letting in early goals against Vietnam in three encounters against them in the AFF Suzuki Cup campaign this time around was something which should not have happened.
“Indeed, I am aware that the three times we meet Vietnam, we let in an early goal. When it happened tonight, it affected the players’ confidence.
“In the previous match we did a ‘come-back’, but this time, the players could not score and some scoring opportunities went begging,” he said in reference to the first-leg played at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Malaysia on Dec 11, in which the Harimau Malaya scored two second-half goals to make it 2-2.
Malaysia’s hopes of ending the eight-year title drought did not materialise after losing 0-1 to the Golden Dragons in the second-leg tonight.
Vietnam’s goal was scored by veteran striker Nguyen Anh Duc in the sixth minute, whose shot from close range could not be stopped by Malaysian goalkeeper Farizal Marlias.
The result saw Vietnam lifting the cup for the second time since 2008. Malaysia has won it once, in 2010. — Bernama
