KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 — Timor Leste football team’s head coach, Norio Tsukitate admitted that his charges’ 7-1 drubbing to Malaysia last night was mainly due to the fact that the players are young and inexperienced.
The 59-year-old Japanese coach revealed that he was forced to rely on the young blood, mostly aged 18-20, as the experienced players were not in optimal condition, boozing and living an unhealthy lifestyle.
The decision to exclude the experienced players from the national team call up, caused a heavy price for the side as the young line up suffered heavy defeat against the roaring Harimau Malaya in the first leg of the 2022 World Cup/2023 Asian Cup first round qualifiers at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium.
“It was a very difficult situation because around 25 (senior) players stopped training and then the domestic league season is only for five to six months. After that, they do nothing… they just drink whisky, alcohol and (attend) no training.
“So, the (senior) players’ condition is very difficult, I cannot have them in the squad, that’s why I chose these young players, but after this match, I think our chances for the next round is 99 per cent finished (gone) ,” the former Bhutan and Laos coach said.
Malaysia opened the scoring through Corbin Ong Lawrence in the 11th minute, before Muhammad Shahrel Fikri Md. Fauzi (23’), Norshahrul Idlan Talaha (43’), Muhammad Safawi Rasid (45’ and 59’), Mohd Faiz Nasir (78’) and Muhammad Akhyar Rashid (89’) found the net in the goal feast.
Timor Leste’s consolation goal was scored by skipper Joao Pedro da Silva Freitas in the 52nd minute to give some hope for the world number 195 side against 168 ranked Malaysia in the second leg fixture at the same venue on Tuesday.
Norio said his charges also couldn’t match the fiery Harimau Malaya squad, as Tan Cheng Hoe’s squad played with good placing and passes as well as a different style of play, which surprised his players, who were inexperienced in international matches.
“In the domestic league, they played better… more high level, more pressure and more good passes, but against Malaysia, they cannot play that way. I hope they have learned something in the match and will show a better performance in the second match,” he said.
Meanwhile, Cheng Hoe seemed to be looking forward to another big win against the same side on Tuesday.
“Of course, we have to play better, we cannot sit back, we have to play with our strength. We have to use our maximum strength and at the same time must be careful of the quick counter-attack from Timor Leste.
“We need to improve our passing and not lose our concentration, but overall I can see we really played the way we wanted to play. Though Mohamadou Sumareh did not score a goal, he has a big impact in the match… I hope he will gain back his (goal scoring) momentum in next match,” he said. — Bernama
