Malaysia coach K Rajagopal. (AFP)
Malaysia 2-1 Chinese Taipei
Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia face an uphill task in the second-leg against Chinese Taipei on Sunday after managing only a narrow 2-1 win yesterday at the Bukit Jalil Stadium in front of 45,000 fans.
“We started sloppily and struggled to play to our tempo against a very committed Chinese Taipei side,” Coach K Rajagopal said at the post-match press conference.
“The introduction of substitute striker Abdul Hadi Yahya injected a much-needed boost to our play and it resulted in our opening goal. There was better penetration on the right flank.
“We played with better pace after the break but our defenders dozed off, causing us to concede a goal late into the game.”
Chinese Taipei coach Lo Chih-tsung, meanwhile, was happy with his men’s performance, especially after picking up a vital away goal.
“We came here with the aim of getting an away goal and we did it. This is the first time my men are playing in front of such a big crowd,” said the coach. “They played to instructions and that was to counter Malaysian game. But it will be different at home.”
Sri Lanka 1-1 Philippines
Colombo: Nate Burkey’s equaliser five minutes into the second-half saw the Azkals neutralise Chathura Gunarathna's 43rd minute lead for Sri Lanka at the Sugathdasa Stadium and the Philippines team manager Dan Palama believes they can win the return leg at home on 3 July.
“There’s work to be done, but I know we can make the job done in Manila,” Palami said, referring to Sunday’s match-up, which is expected to be attended by a record crowd at the Rizal Football Stadium.
Bangladesh 3-0 Pakistan
Dhaka: Bangladesh put one leg in the second round of qualifiers with a thumping 3-0 win over Pakistan on a rain-soaked Wednesday and the losing coach lamented that the weather did his men in.
“We could have played better,” Pakistan coach Tariq Lutfi told The Express Tribune. “But the weather helped Bangladesh.”
The return leg takes place at the Punjab Stadium.
Nepal 2 -1 Timor Leste
Kathmandu: A 71st minute Ju Manu Rai goal saw Nepal edge their resilient rivals at the Dashrath Stadium after team mate Anil Gurung's opener was cancelled out by Juvito Da Silva. The hosts were reduced to 10 men in second half when Bharat Kawas was red-carded.
Nepal coach Graham Roberts, however, expressed his satisfaction with the team’s performance.
"We dominated the field. We had 16 chances on the goal. I think the decision of sending Bharat off was wrong", Roberts said.
Nepal captain Sagar Thapa admitted that the match was tough against them.
"It was a tough match but we did it", Thapa said.
Timor coach Carlos Viera said his men “didn’t play that bad”.
"Well, What do i say. We didn't play that bad. We could have won the match, having numerical advantage. However, the result is good for us as we have one more match to prove what we are,” said Viera.
“Nepal are no different from us. We played same football.”
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