The Malaysia Experiment - Pitstop at Qatar

"How beautiful it is to do nothing,
and then to rest afterward." - Spanish Proverb

Since we're in the region, I thought we'd drop by Qatar since we're not playing in the next set of fixtures. It would be nice to experiment with some unfamiliar tactics and formations with the boys as well.

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Just take a look at the amount of Johor DT players that I've called up - a whopping 14 players out of 23! They are indeed the Real Madrid of Malaysian Super League. I've decided to try the conventional 4-4-2 since I seldom play both Jasni Abidin (ST) and Ibrahim Salleh (ST). I've also tried to play players that aren't playing for Johor DT, especially the ones without a club for the time being. I'm sure you've also noticed the minutes restriction Ulisses Morais instructed the staff for his club players. I'm annoyed.

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The Al-Annabi (The Maroons) are playing a 4-4-1-1 formation with 26-year-old Hamza Sanhaji (Al-Sadd) at the focal point of the attack. I expect a classic match with some good old school football being played out tonight.

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Lo and behold, all it took was 4 minutes for my striking pair to produce some magic. After picking up the ball from the center circle, Salleh dribbled it toward the penalty box as the defense was backtracking. At the opportune time, he played the perfect through ball to Abidin who just beat the offside trap and he then hits it past 34-year old Ghanem Haddaf Al-Gamdi (GK) with his right foot. Goal! We were 1-0 ahead. :)

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We were then pressed back for rest of the half as they had 67% of the possession. I just reminded my boys to have fun and play without pressure. We're leading in front anyways. I made some changes at halftime as well, bringing on Saddam El-Hafedz Shahri (GK), Mohd Fauzi Abdul Razak (MC) and Rahim Osman (AML).

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I made more changes on the hour mark, bringing in Muhd Syazwan Ismawi (DR) and Nor Azli Abdul Ghani (DL) for the fullbacks, as well as Benjamin Ibrahim (20 years old) on the right of midfield. Three minutes later, their persistence finally paid off. They were awarded a corner and we couldn't seem to put in a tackle as the ball was passed around amongst their players. Mohammed Salem Hussein (DL) then squares the ball to Thani Abdulrahman Al-Kaabi (MR) who lashes out a shot from a tight angle. I have no idea what was going through Abdul Ghani's mind when he tried to block his shot with his arms raised up. I'm glad it was a low shot as a handball would definitely have resulted in a sending off.

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7 minutes from time, Ibrahim sent a long ball over the defense for Salleh to run to, who used his quick pace (14/20) to outrun their defense (11/20 and 9/20). With 26-year old Naser Darwish (GK) still to beat, he hits it into the bottom right corner. It was definitely a work of beauty! We regained our lead with a piece of fantastic football.

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I thought we were done as we just had to sit back and defend as we waited for the referee to blow for time. Who knew the boys had one more goal in them. This time the attack came from the left side of the pitch as Osman initiated it deep in his own half. He passed the ball to Abidin, who in turn passed to Salleh. The goalscorer turned provider as he dribbled to the right and floats it into the area. Osman, who has been running non-stop, was on the receiving end and attempted a shot from a narrow angle. The ball somehow squirmed underneath the goalkeeper and it caps a horrible night out for him, 2 goals within 10 minutes of his international debut, to the extent that even I felt sorry for him. :/

Here are the highlights and it was actually a good showing from the Harimau Malaya as I'm quite convinced they can play the classic 4-4-2 formation. I'll want to make good use of the striking options that we have in the upcoming SEA Championship 2020 aka Suzuki Cup. Fingers crossed that we'll be able to retain the cup!

If you enjoyed this entry,
you can follow the story by clicking the link below:
The Malaysia Experiment - SEA Championship 2020 | Group A | Part 1

If you missed out on any of my previous entries,
you can check them out below: