The Malaysia Experiment - Playing the Host

"True hospitality consists of giving
the best of yourself to your guests." - Eleanor Roosevelt

It was really good to have a one week break. I met the players at training the other day and everyone was in a relaxed mood. At nights, I went to watch the other quarterfinal matches with my coaching staff, especially the one that featured Japan (61st) and Iran (58th). We were pretty familiar with Team Melli so we were keeping tabs on Samurai Blue, so made an astonishing comeback after trailing twice. Atsushi Usami scored deep into injury time to send the Iranians home. In the other matches, South Korea (37th) ended Turkmenistan (135th)'s fairytale run, while Australia (59th) was knocked out by Uzbekistan (44th)

We're last to play out our tie again. This time we'll be playing against the host - United Arab Emirates (96th). The home crowd will definitely show up as they literally have their whole country behind them. We traveled to Zayed Sports City Stadium and was greeted by the mob, and really got us hyped up, not to mention the capacity crowd of 43,620 seated inside and has been cheering non-stop. It was really a nationwide party for them.

After glancing through the team sheet, I did my very best to settle the boys down. I told them it was very possible to come out with the win. They were playing three at the back so we just needed to exploit that with our wingers.

The first half was dull and boring, with both our defenses stifling each other's attack. I encouraged the boys to keep it tight at the back and play on the counter.

After the restart, The Whites came out roaring and forced a save from Saddam El-Hafedz Shahri. In the 56th minute, Lee Jinxiang (AMR) whipped in a dangerous cross on the right and the referee spotted Hasan Al-Zohary (MR) shoving Muhaimin Jamaludin (ST) when they were fighting for the ball. The penalty was awarded! Luqman Hussain (AML) stepped up and held his nerves as the whole stadium reached its loudest peak. Rashid Mohammed (GK) guessed correctly but Hussain kicked it with so much pace that it went in before the goalkeeper could get to it. We're in the lead! 1-0! I quickly shouted for the boys to keep it even tighter at the back! We are going to park the bus!

In the 77th minute, the ball finally found the net in our goal. Al-Zarouni played a beautiful through ball that found Omar Abdulrahman and the 2013 Emirati Player of the Year hit it on his first touch. Their players began celebrating as we slowly trudged back to the halfway line. It was then I caught a glimpse of the assistant referee's raised flag! I quickly checked the replay and boy were we in luck!

Take a look at that (my first attempt at drawing a line on my computer)! Indeed Abdulrahman was a fraction offside. I quickly encouraged the team to keep their heads up. The remaining 12 minutes or so might seem like an eternity, but we can definitely pull through.

We survived the onslaught! It was indeed ugly. Just the fact that Gurusamy Govandar managed to pick up the man of the match with a meager rating of 6.9 tells the whole story. A total of 26 players and no one managed a 7. I'm not one to complain though; even my assistant, Tan Cheng Hoe, told the press that he wouldn't have awarded the penalty. :/

We're in the semifinals of Asian Nations Cup! I seriously can't believe it myself! Go Harimau Malaya!

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If you enjoyed this entry, do check out my previous posts
from where it all started, right up to now.

The Malaysia Experiment - The Setup
The Malaysia Experiment - Welcome to Malaysia!
The Malaysia Experiment - Getting to Know the Players
The Malaysia Experiment - Why Wan?
The Malaysia Experiment - My Managerial Debut
The Malaysia Experiment - The First Step
The Malaysia Experiment - First Cut Is The Deepest
The Malaysia Experiment - David vs Goliath
The Malaysia Experiment - A New Malaysia?
The Malaysia Experiment - Here Comes The Doubters
The Malaysia Experiment - Qualification Wrapped Up?
The Malaysia Experiment - See You In United Arab Emirates in 2019!
The Malaysia Experiment - World Cup 2018
The Malaysia Experiment - The U23s are Gold!
The Malaysia Experiment - The Mundane Friendlies
The Malaysia Experiment - AFF Championship Kicks Off!
The Malaysia Experiment - Top of the Table Clash!
The Malaysia Experiment - AFF Championship Group Stages
The Malaysia Experiment - Melayu Derby
The Malaysia Experiment - David vs Goliath
The Malaysia Experiment - Asian Nations Cup | Group F
The Malaysia Experiment - Penalty Drama