AFF Suzuki: Dollah can hold his head high despite defeat

Dollah who took over the hotseat from former National coach Datuk K. Rajagobal in July, was on the verge of success when his boys were leading 3-0 after having lost the first leg 0-2 in Bangkok but two late goals dashed the hopes of Dollah and the millions of Malaysian fans who were glued to the TV, let alone the 100,000 who were at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

The Malaysian side was only 10 minutes away from winning the cup for a second time since Rajagobal had led the team to victory in 2010, but a 10-minute onslaught by the Thais saw the cup clip away on a 3-4 aggregate.

The Thais meanwhile, lifted the cup for the fourth time to equal Singapore's record.

In 2010, Malaysia under Rajagobal, won the title in a two-leg final after beating Indonesia 4-2 on aggregate.

Dollah who had initially come under heavy criticism after a spate of poor results and his decision to include a number of senior players who were deemed to have passed their prime, like Indra Putra Mahayuddin, Mohd Badhri Mohd Radzi, Shukor Adan, made his critics swallow their words by guiding the team to the final.

His 'veteran' side managed to beat Singapore 3-1 at their own backyard to make it to the knock out stage and went on to beat Vietnam 5-4 on aggregate despite losing the first leg semifinal 1-2 at the Shah Alam Stadium.

Malaysia, who were trailing Vietnam 1-2 after the first leg, put up a dazzling display to beat Vietnam 4-2 at the My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam and set up a date with Thailand.

Former international Bakri Ibni feels Dollah had done a great job by taking the team to the final of the AFF Suzuki Cup although he had only spent a short period with the team.

Bakri, however, urged the players to change their mindset to become players with full concentration and remain focused throughout the match, if they want to go far in Asia.

"We must be able to be on par with teams like Japan and Korea, just like the golden era of Malaysian football in the 60s and 70s," said the former Perlis coach.