Will the nightmare end?

16/10/2001

By Jugjet Singh in Hobart

HOBART: How will the Malaysian juniors fare against South Africa today?
Nobody dares answer because if there are any awards for being erratic in
the Junior World Cup here in Tasmania, Malaysia will win hands down.
The first round is now history, some say a nightmare, and many feel the
new target of finishing ninth in this 16-team tournament will merely be a
dream if Malaysia fail against South Africa.
Scotland, who beat Chile 3-2 yester
day, look good to advance into the 9-12th placed classification matches,
and it is imperative that Malaysia win today.
They should be rested for they spent yesterday, a rest day for them,
doing some window shopping in the morning and they had a workout in the
afternoon.
Malaysia, if they win today, will not be assured of advancing in the top
two position as they have to beat Chile tomorrow to confirm their berth.
For the moment though, South Africa need to be slayed and it is not
going to be easy because they beat Chile 3-2 on Sunday and need the three
points as well.
They might find the Malaysian defenders, if Chua Boon Huat plays the
full match at the back, tough to crack. But the problem is, Malaysia have
not been impressive upfront.
Only one of the five goals they have scored in the campaign so far was
by a forward - Fairuz Ramil - while fullback Chua scored one, midfielder
Jiwa Mohan two and halfback Jiva Mohan one.
88 Forwards Zaharin Zakaria, K. Logan Raj and Tajol Rosli have hit a bad
patch but after the training session yesterday, they vowed to make amends.
"I know the statistics do not look good for the forwards but we have
been doing our best. The midfield has been great but I think tight marking
and robust play has stopped us from scoring," said Zaharin.
Yesterday, coach Yahya Atan was seen instructing his charges to play on
the right side while the left was used sparingly and they looked good. But
then again, nothing is confirmed with this team until the THE END is
flashed on the scoreboard. jugjet@nstp.com.my SECOND ROUND RESULTS
GROUP E
ENGLAND 2 SPAIN 2 GROUP F
AUSTRALIA 2 INDIA 1 LOSER'S POOL
GROUP G
IRELAND 2 CANADA 1 GROUP H
SCOTLAND 3 CHILE 2
(END)