Papua New Guinea coach blasts referee for awarding dubious penalty

SHAH ALAM: Papua New Guinea head coach Flemming Serritslev blasted the match referee for a dubious decision against his team during a Class A international friendly at the Shah Alam Stadium here today.
Papua New Guinea who were leading 1-0 eventually lost 1-2 after the referee awarded a penalty in the 47th minute when both teams were tied 1-1.
Serritslev however, praised his boys for putting up a splendid performance against Malaysia.
"Football allows you to make shoulder-to-shoulder contacts but I do not know what happened to the referee who certainly made a biased decision against our team.
"Nevertheless, I should praise the Malaysian team who were much prepared compared to their (0-2) defeat to our team in a friendly match in June," the Danish coach said.
Skipper Amri Yahyah scored from the spot to give Malaysia victory.
Despite the win, head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee was not pleased with the performance level of his players since they would be facing tough teams in the AFF Suzuki Cup which kicks off in Yangon, Myanmar on Sunday.
Malaysia face Cambodia in their opening Group B match on Sunday.
"If today's match is used to gauge the performance of the players, much work is needed ... we are still making numerous mistakes that opponents can capitalise," he told reporters after the match.
In today's match, a lapse in concentration by the defenders saw Papua New Guinea take the lead in the 6th minute through but Ahmad Hazwan Bakri levelled the score in the 20th minute before Amri's winner. — Bernama