KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s first naturalised player of the modern era, Gambian-born Mohamadou Sumareh did not at all disappoint on his debut for the national side as he announced his arrival on the international scene by scoring a brace to enable Harimau Malaya to record a convincing 4-1 win over Sri Lanka during their Class A International Friendly match that was played at the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo yesterday.
Sumareh scored twice in the final 10 minutes of the match which only goes to show that he is more than ready to shoulder the responsibility of leading Harimau Malaya’s frontline.
It was obvious that the Pahang forward, who only recently obtained his Malaysian citizenship in July after coming to Malaysia with his family as a 12-year-old boy back in 2003, is blessed with the natural ability to score goals, and this will only serve to motivate him even more to perform as best he can for Malaysia in the AFF Cup which takes place next month.
“I am happy to have scored for the team, but what’s more important is we won away from home.
“For me, the two goals I scored is to repay the faith and continuous support that national coach Tan Cheng Hoe and Malaysian fans have shown me.
“In fact, my first goals at international level has motivated me even more to perform even better and trust me when I say that I will continue to give it my all,” said Sumareh when met after arriving at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) here earlier today (Saturday).
In the friendly match against Sri Lanka, the national squad were forced to work hard and come from behind to get back in the match after the hosts scored first through Asela Madushan in the 29th minute.
Cheng Hoe’s boys showed that they meant business especially in the last 25 minutes of the game which saw them hit four goals through veteran forward Norshahrul Idlan Talaha in the 65th minute, Adam Nor Azlin (76th minute) and Sumareh (85th and 91st minutes).
After their win in Colombo, the national squad who are ranked World No 171 will next face World No 91 side Kyrgyzstan this Tuesday at the Hang Jebat Stadium in Melaka.
When asked about the next friendly match against Kyrgyzstan, Sumareh admitted that he is very excited and looking forward to making his ‘home’ debut in front of Malaysian fans.
“Yes, it will not be easy playing Kyrgyzstan, and I just can’t wait to take to the field, though I am hoping very much that our fans will turn up in full force at the Hang Jebat Stadium to urge us on to another win,” said Sumareh.