The Malaysia Experiment - Top of the Table Clash!

"The only person you should try to be better than
is the person you were yesterday." - Matty Mullins

After our successful outing in Manila, I've got a feeling we could keep this run going. Brunei (155th) did well to beat Vietnam (98th) at home.

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I went home to watch the tape and I was shocked! Mohd Yusri Sahaili scored a 4-minute hattrick! That must have been a record. They played a 4-3-3 formation, with the threats coming from the right side of the pitch. Vietnam actually had their chances (17 shots with 7 shot on target) but they didn't take them. The match was all but over after 15 minutes. All Brunei had to do was to play it out. I'll have to prep my defenders about Sahaili.

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The day came and they actually changed their tactic and came up with a 4-4-2 lineup. There was still the fearsome number 9, Suhaili, leading the attack. Mohd Zulkifli Mazlan (DC) was a yellow card away from a one-match ban but I told him to stop Suhaili at all cost, aside from earning a straight red or giving away a penalty. I managed to call up Mohd Faizal Azeman (AMC) as I tweaked my tactics to play a more attacking football brand since we're at home. I personally thought that Tay Kok Fann and Azhar Ishak could pair up well in the center of the pitch. The only other change was swapping Amirul Azahan Aznan in for Muhd Shahrom Abdul Kalam (33 years old), who has just announced his retirement after a stellar year with Felcra, at right back.

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In the 14th minute, Muhaimin Jamaludin (STC) received a pass from Luqman Hussain (AML), and then crossed to Lee Jinxiang (AMR). He actually hit it a bit too high but Jinxiang jumped all the way up to receive it, and then proceeded to blast it into the roof of the net! Jin Xiang then doubled his tally on the 29th minute when beat the offside trap after a perfect through pass from Ishak (DMC). In injury time, we were rewarded with a corner. Ishak put the cross in and Kok Fann rose above the rest to head it in. We were up 3-0 when the halftime whistle blew! :)

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Ishak has been really impressive and has already put up a 8.9 rating. He'll really pose a selection problem for me when Mohd Fauzi Abdul Razak and Gonzalo Gnanalingam are all available for me to choose from. There was nothing notable in the second half as I pulled out Abhishek Pannierselvam (DC), Muhd Syazwan Ismawi (DL), as well as Hussain to rest their legs for the next match.

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Jinxiang won man of the match with a 9.2 rating, scoring two goals in the process. Ishak provided close competition with a 9.1 rating, creating three chances and four key passes, of which two were converted. I was really proud of the boys. They really flew our Jalur Gemilang high this afternoon. Do check out the beautiful goals from the game.

Other noteworthy news includes the Malaysian Super League that had just concluded. I'm surprised that Melaka beat Johor DT to the championship. It was definitely a season to remember for Melaka as they managed to finish seven spots above their pre-season expectations of an 8th place finish.

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Melaka will certainly look back at some great wins along the way with perhaps the most notable including their convincing 4-0 victory over Terengganu II, a 3-2 triumph against Johor DT, a comfortable 3-0 humbling of Kelantan and their 3-1 victory over Felda Utd. Zulkarnian Abu Bakar led the way to glory for the league champions by notching 11 goals en route to sealing the Super League crown.

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As for the ranking of our national league, it still remains at 26th, worse than Japan's third division! We can at least take comfort in the fact that we're above our neighboring leagues - Singapore Premier League (32nd) and Liga 1 (33rd). Our next target is to catch up with Vietnamese V-League Division One (23rd) and Thai League (13th).

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Before I head off to prepare the next match against Vietnam (98th), my youth team managers sent me their respective results against lowly Northern Mariana (N.A.). Our Under 19s won 2-0 while the Under 23s drew 0-0. I guess my senior squad call-up affected them, but there's no reason to fire blank with the strike force that we have. :/

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