Ong bewildered by fans' wrath
Published on: Saturday, March 25, 2017
PETALING JAYA: National football coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee is a confused man.The former international who said Malaysia's goalless draw against the Philippines, ranked 124th in the world, was a fair result has surprisingly drawn criticism from the fans, reported The Star."I don't understand what they want from us. When we lost or drew with lower ranked teams in friendlies last year they called us clowns.
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"Now when we drew with the Philippines – a team almost 40 points higher than us ... they call us failures," lamented Kim Swee."As I said, for us to get a point away from home is valuable. It is tough to play against the Filipinos. They are an improved side with their naturalised players."We have a mixed blend of players and no superstars. We had a chance to win the game in the closing stages but just could not finish it.
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"The draw will give us more ranking points than the Philippines but yet people are complaining," said Kim Swee on arrival with the team from Manila yesterday.Malaysia, ranked 161, came close to snatching a late winner but substitute S. Veenod squandered a sitter with only the goalkeeper to beat in the 89th minute.
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The friendly at the Rizal Memorial Stadium on Wednesday was Malaysia's first international match of the year.The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) were criticised for sending the national team on a three-week playing tour against lower-ranked Oceania teams last year.Malaysia (then ranked No. 173) lost to world No. 193 Papua New Guinea 2-0, beat world No. 183 New Caledonia 2-1 and drew 1-1 with world No. 186 Fiji.Kim Swee said it is difficult to please everyone and his immediate task is to prepare his players for the 2019 Asian Cup qualifying tournament.Malaysia will take on North Korea in the opening Group B match at a neutral venue on June 11 after relations between the two nations soured over a diplomatic incident at an airport in Kuala Lumpur last month."We have the fasting month coming up in May. There is not much time as the players are also involved in the domestic and AFC Cup competitions," added Kim Swee.For the Asian Cup qualifiers, Malaysia also have Lebanon and Hong Kong for company.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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