It does not take rocket science to know that Myanmar
must secure a good result tomorrow or face an early exit from the
AFF Suzuki Cup. Myanmar have found themselves in this position
after they went down 3-0 to hosts Indonesia yesterday.
"We played well for 30 minutes but then the two quick goals
ruined it for us. This happens in football but that has now left us
in with the difficult task of having to win the next game," said
Myanmar coach, Carlos Antonio Falopa.
The Brazilian coach said the team made some mistakes and paid
for it. "Tomorrow, we have to be more fortunate in attack. But we
know it will difficult as Singapore are a good side, also they are
physically stronger especially with their foreign players."
"They have many foreigners and my players will have to learn to
deal with them. They have experience against African teams when
they played in Malaysia (during the Medeka Tournament). For
tomorrow, Singapore are the favourites but they should also respect
us."
Falopa watched Singapore in action yesterday and said he spotted
a few chinks in their armour. "I saw a few gaps but I'm not
telling, hopefully we can do something about it. We always play to
win and it will be the same tomorrow," said the former South
African technical director.
Myanmar, who have only qualified once for the semifinals of the
AFF-organised tournament, will have to be at their ultimate best to
overcome an experienced Singapore side. The Lions, although failed
to breach the defence for the first 40 minutes, showed that they
have an enormous amount of firepower coming from all sides.
Agu Casmir, who scored two goals, Alexander Duric, Mustafic
Fahrudin, Shia Jiayi and even defender Daniel Bennet were taking
shots at goal.
Indra Sahdan and Mohd Noh Alam Shah who came on as subs later,
proved they still were still dangerous.
Speaking of firepower, coach Raddy Avramovic was pleased that
the team had numerous options upfront. "It was not important how
many goals we scored but that we created the chances and have
several players who can score. It was a good win for us and I am
looking forward for the next match."
