Norizan:
Kallang Roar will not unnerve us
Malaysia coach Norizan Bakar dismisses the theory that the Kallang
Roar will unnerve his players in the second leg of the Asean
Football Championship semi-final against Singapore on Saturday (Jan
27).
A full house of 55,000 is expected at Kallang in what looks set to
be the last meeting between the arch rivals before the 34-year-old
National Stadium makes way for a new sports hub this year.
As of Thursday (Jan 25), 20,000 tickets have already been sold in
Singapore while only about 1,000 Malaysian fans are expected to
make the trip for this return leg. When asked if playing away in
front of a partisan home crowd would affect his players, Norizan
shrugged it off, saying that Malaysia have been playing only one
home game all competition anyway.
"We have played three games (in the group stage in Bangkok) away
from home and we did very well playing against Thailand in front of
their own supporters, so I don't think playing there will be any
pressure.
"A big part of the preparation is to stress the players will take
to the field with a positive attitude. "We deserve to be where we
are (in the last four) because of our positive attitude and we are
going to make sure we stick to that tomorrow night."
Norizan expects his charges to 'hold nothing back' after being held
to a 1-1 draw in the first leg on Tuesday at Shah Alam. "We did
quite well in the first leg and it's only another match to the
final. But to me, the match tomorrow is already like a final. So we
are not going to hold back," he said at the pre-match press
conference on Friday morning.
Despite being held to a draw by ten-man Singapore in the first leg,
Norizan saw many positives in his team's performance. "It was a
positive result, I feel. Thankfully we have an injury-free squad
and I don't think we will have to make too many drastic changes."
Which might mean that Fauzie Nan keeps his place in the starting
lineup despite the return of left wingback Irwan Fadli Idrus from
suspension.
Norizan also said that forward Nizaruddin Yusof - who was taken off
just before the break in the first leg - would be fit enough to
partner Hairuddin Omar in attack.
