Harimau Malaya's best not good enough against UAE - Cheng Hoe

KUALA LUMPUR: Harimau Malaya's best, is not good enough to match the prowess of United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the 2022 World Cup/2023 Asian Cup qualifiers, to get away with positive results, said head coach Tan Cheng Hoe.

The 53-year-old coach backed his charges after last night's 0-4 drubbing by the world's number 73, saying they have given their best and were very committed in the match played at the Zabeel Stadium in Dubai.

Cheng Hoe however, admitted the players lost focus, especially when defending to control the likes of hitman Ali Mabkhout, which was capitalised by The Whites to secure their second win against Malaysia in the campaign, after having won 2-1 at Bukit Jalil National Stadium in 2019.

"I am sure the players are disappointed with the big score after this game, I believe that they have given their best...As a coach, I feel that the big score margin, will definitely make players very upset and this is first time we suffered such a big margin defeat in this campaign.

"We know UAE are a better side this time. We (should) have been more consistent in the match, more focus on the attack and defence. We can't control Ali, he played well," Cheng Hoe reacted in the post-match press conference.

A recording of the press conference was obtained from the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).

Last night's match saw a brace from Ali in the 18th and 90th+1 minute as well as two more goals from Brazilian naturalised midfielder Fabio Lima (83rd and 90th+2), which helped UAE to move up to the second place in Group G with nine points on goal advantage after six matches, while Malaysia fell to fourth place with nine points as well.

Meanwhile, Cheng Hoe is optimistic that his players will be able to bounce back to secure wins in the remaining matches against Vietnam on next Friday and Thailand (June 15) to keep their hopes alive.

"We have about a week to prepare against Vietnam. I strongly believe that we have learned good lessons against UAE, identified the weaknesses and strength of the team. For next match, I think Vietnam's coach Park Hang-seo has also observed and analysed our game.

"Vietnam is a very strong side too, as we didn't get good results against them in last few matches. I hope after a few sessions of training, my players will play the level I want to get positive results," he concluded.

Malaysia did not win in the last five clashes against the Golden Dragons, having lost four and drew once.

-- BERNAMA