Malaysia Under-22 team head coach Ong Kim Swee did not satisfy with his team’s performance despite a 2-0 victory against Myanmar’s U-22 in an international friendly on Saturday.
Kim Swee has been tasked with building up a formidable team as the expectations are high on Malaysia to win the 29th SEA Games gold medal at home.
However, the 46-year-old coach admits that his mission now faces an uphill battle due to the significant weaknesses in the squad’s midfielders and defenders.
“In this match, I felt the midfielders and defenders were not so well organised, they were slow in getting the ball to the other side of the pitch. The passes were also not accurate and they often lost the ball,” he told a press conference after the match, as quoted by the Malay Mail Online.
Kim Swee acknowledged that a short training period, as well as the decisions of Malaysia Premier League, clubs not to release their players were among reasons for the team’s poor performance.
Currently, only six out of the 26 called-up players have joined the training sessions for the next month’s SEA Games at home and 2018 AFC U-22 Championship qualification in Bangkok from Aug 19-23.