PAU MARTI HAILS HARIMAU MALAYA'S GRIT IN HARD-FOUGHT VICTORY

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's head coach Pau Marti Vicente praised his team’s resilience after they overcame a tough challenge to secure a crucial 3-2 victory against Timor-Leste in their second Group A match in the 2024 ASEAN Cup at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil tonight.

Speaking after the game, Vicente admitted that it had been a challenging outing, especially with injuries, but commended his players for their determination and ability to fight until the end.

"Today's match, as you can imagine, was very tough for us. But the best things about today are, of course, the final result and the lesson that we learned, that we need to fight every moment to get what we want. When things don’t go our way, when luck is not on our side, when we suffer injuries during the game and concede two goals, the team still needs to show up at the end.

"It was very, very difficult, but in the end, we got the win. As we said, this is a tournament, and winning was important. In the end, this is what we need to take from today," he said in the post-match press conference here tonight. 

Meanwhile, Timor-Leste head coach Simon Ellichett applauded his players for their tactical discipline but lamented their inability to capitalise on key opportunities. 

"We are not very happy with the result at this moment, but we did our best. We were able to defend when Malaysia controlled the ball and stay organised in our defense.

"Our boys showed good tactical discipline, but we are not happy with the result. We hope this game will help us improve in our next matches in Singapore and Cambodia," he added.

Earlier, the Harimau Malaya narrowly avoided embarrassment against minnows Timor-Leste, coming from behind to secure a 3-2 victory.

 Naturalised striker Paulo Josue emerged as the hero for the Harimau Malaya squad, scoring two goals in the second half to turn the tide after Timor-Leste, ranked 196th in the world, led 2-1 at halftime.

Malaysia had earlier opened the scoring through a volley by forward Muhammad Syafiq Ahmad in the 38th minute, while both of Timor-Leste’s goals were scored by Olagar Xavier and captain Joao Pedro during the first-half injury time.

-- BERNAMA

TAGS: football, Harimau Malaya, Timor-Leste, Pau Marti Vicente, 2024 ASEAN Cup