IN 1991, Malaysia suffered one of their most embarrassing defeats in the Sea Games when they lost 1-0 to the Philippines at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.
While the Filipino people celebrated the triumph then, the Malaysian press described the defeat as a “national disaster.”
It was indeed a disaster as the Philippines were regarded as minnows in the 1990s.
The defeat 28 years ago is the only blemish against the Philippines in seven Sea Games meetings. Malaysia won five and drew once in the other encounters.
In the 2005 edition, Malaysia exerted revenge by overcoming the Philippines 4-2 in their backyard, but the match was held at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod.
On Friday, Ong Kim Swee’s side will be focused on avoiding a repeat of the 1991 disaster when they face the Philippines at Rizal Memorial Stadium in their second Group A match.
Malaysia, both the senior and youth teams, have always had issues playing at Rizal Memorial Stadium and do not have an impressive record.
On Monday, Ong Kim Swee’s Under-22 side were lacking in some aspects and faced issues adapting to the venue’s synthetic pitch in the 1-1 draw against Myanmar.
And the Philippines, who drew 1-1 with Cambodia on Monday, hope to inflict more pain on the Malaysians on Friday.
Philippines captain Stephan Schrock said his team are aiming for a historic run of winning a medal.
“We aim to reach the semi-finals, and hope to do well in our following matches to achieve our target.
“ I think it was a well-deserved draw against Cambodia, and believe we can build from this performance,” Schrock told news.abs-cbn.com
On Monday’s game, national youth forward Luqman Hakim Shamsudin admitted that his team had problems adapting to the pace of the game due to the synthetic pitch.
“Everyone has played and trained on synthetic pitches but the ball travels a little faster on this pitch here,” said Luqman, who will join Belgian side KV Kortrijk next year, in Manila.
“However, we do not want to make any excuses. As a player, I will try to improve my weaknesses ahead of the next game.
“Overall, it was a dream to start for Kim Swee’s side in the opening match.”
Captain Adam Nor Azlin is determined to bounce back after a disappointing performance on Monday.
Playing on the left side of a three-man backline which also featured Dominic Tan and Irfan Zakaria, Adam had a torrid time against Myanmar.
“I would like to apologise to all Malaysians as I could not help the team do well (against Myanmar),” said a visibly disappointed Adam. “We still have three more group games to play, and have to win all three.”
The 23-year-old Adam and Irfan, 24, are the two overage players in Kim Swee’s squad in the Under-22 competition.