I mentioned two weeks ago that LionsXII will soon secure a win in the Malaysian Super League. After narrowly going down to defending champions Kelantan on opening day, our boys eventually claimed their first point in the league against Kedah a few nights later.
Last week, the team fared better than I expected, notching two successive wins against Kuala Lumpur at Jalan Besar and Sabah in front of a hostile crowd in Kota Kinabalu.
The two wins have brought new belief within local fans that this team is capable of achieving some form of success this season. However, despite the six points earned, i personally feel that there are some valuable lessons which have to be learnt and followed upon.
Since the beginning of our Malaysian adventure, our players have been rudely exposed to the harsh reality of intense, physical football by our opponents thus far.
During the game against Kuala Lumpur, Hariss Harun was knocked in his rib by a Kuala Lumpur player who had no intention of playing the ball. When Isa Halim fell onto the ground off a challenge from a player of the same team, I feared for the worst.
It looked like a nasty injury to sustain as I was watched television replays from the media stands against Kuala Lumpur. True to the fact, our midfield hard man suffered an abductor injury, which he carried through to the following game against Sabah.
Khairul Nizam was seen leaving the Jalan Besar stadium on crutches. His brief appearance only lasted for 15 minutes as the lanky forward succumbed to a swollen ankle from a challenge by a Kuala Lumpur player.
Against Sabah, the LionsXII were the victims of some nonsensical tackling by the opposition. When Yasir Hanapi was kicked right in front of the linesman, the first thing that came to my mind was “RED CARD!”. In football, there’s no way that you kick out at an opposing player in that manner. The lucky Sabah Captain was let off the hook with just a warning and yellow card.
Things got a little bit more rowdy after LionsXII took the lead. Tempers flared and there was a face to face showdown between Shakir Hamzah and Sabah’s Brendan Gan in the LionXII’s half. Moments later, Mafry Balang showed traits of “Mohammad Ali” when he shoved Irwan Shah and even threatened to punch the LionsXII left sided midfielder only to be stopped by the fourth official who was barely a couple of meters from the scene.
When I received information that firecrackers were hurled towards the direction of some LionsXII’s substitutes warming up behind the goal, the first thing that came to mind was the safety of the players. Opposing fans can do what they want, but they have to understand that should any LionsXII player get hurt from those firecrackers, it would be a disaster for Malaysian football.
The experiences and lessons learnt from football competitions across the causeway will definitely toughen up our boys. Let’s look at two examples in Shahril Ishak and Baihakki Khaizan. The two senior players have been playing in Indonesia for the past three seasons and it seems that their Indonesian stint, has prepared them physically and mentally. This now proves as an additional dimension to their playing abilities.
It is a good step towards development of the players, especially when majority of the boys are from the Singapore Under-23 squad. It will toughen the boys up mentally, and in future, during International tournaments this Malaysian football adventure will serve as a good lesson for Singapore football.
VOXSPORTS Player of the Week: Isa Halim
He guarded the LionsXII backline with efficiency and authority. Isa Halim proved why he is the best man for the “dirty job” when he put in two outstanding performances against Kuala Lumpur and Sabah to help the LionsXII to maximum points in those two games.
Despite sustaining an abductor injury midway through the game against Kuala Lumpur, the midfield anchorman battled on to complete the full 90 minutes through the pain. Initially a doubt for the Sabah fixture, Isa overcame all odds to mark out Michael Baird – Sabah’s dangerman – for the full 90 minutes.
Isa has been one of the more consistent performers in the team alongside Baihakki Khaizan and the experience and knowledge will be a huge influence to the rest of the younger boys in the team.
Article written by: Neo Chee Seong
