Hey Mickey! You're so good, gushes coach Cheng Hoe

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10  -- Terengganu FC winger Faisal Halim’s impressive performance in the two Tier 1 international friendlies against Jordan and Uzbekistan has caught the attention of Harimau Malayai head coach Tan Cheng Hoe.

He praised the diminutive player nicknamed ‘Mickey’, saying his recall to the national squad for the two friendly matches in Amman, Jordan, was one of the positive aspects for the Harimau Malaya despite them losing both their friendlies - 4-0 to Jordan on Wednesday (Oct 6) and 5-1 to Uzbekistan yesterday (Oct 9).

“Overall, of course, Mickey stood out in both the matches in Jordan,” he said in an online media conference today.

The 53-year-old former Kedah coach said his gamble in fielding Faisal in the first XI for both friendlies paid off as the player used his speed and slick moves to neutralise his bigger-sized opponents.

Apart from Faisal, Cheng Hoe was impressed with the young and talented Luqman Hakim Shamsudin, who replaced naturalised attacker Guilherme De Paula as the main striker against Uzbekistan after being used a substitute in previous matches.

He said the player, who plies his trade with KV Kortrijk in Belgium, showed good technique and ball control to trouble the much bigger-built Uzbekistan defenders in the match held at the Amman International Stadium.

He was, however, clearly unimpressed with his backline for the way they conceded nine goals in the two matches.

Cheng Hoe reminded his charges to coordinate their moves well as a team, be accurate with their passing and have better ball control so as to avoid being pressured by opponents into making silly mistakes.

The coach also said that he decided to stick with the centreback partnership of skipper Mohamad Aidil Zafuan Abd Radzak and Muhammad Irfan Zakaria, despite the Harimau Malaya leaking four goals to Jordan, because of their international experience.

“We saw many individual errors made against Jordan, but there were fewer slip-ups in yesterday’s game (Uzbekistan). However, in terms of defending, we have to learn to do so as a team.

“Offensively, the players have to more slick with pin-point passes as well as being sharper in ball control, technique and skills when facing more superior teams. I hope the players have learnt from the two friendly matches,” he said.

He also deduced that the many lessons learnt in Jordan would provide a platform for his players to raise their game in matches to come, apart from providing valuable input for the coaching staff to come up with a winning formula for the 2020 AFF Suzuki Cup in Singapore in December and next year’s third round of the 2023 Asian Cup qualifying campaign.

Asked if he has any idea who would feature in the two tournaments based on their performance in Jordan, he said that his coaching team had yet to decide on the matter.

“But we have discovered two or three players whom we can polish up for the future,” he said.

Meanwhile, Cheng Hoe hopes the team management can arrange friendly matches against higher-ranked teams next month before his men head for the AFF Suzuki Cup tournament.

-- BERNAMA