HARIMAU MALAYA head coach Peter Cklamovski expressed immense pride in his team following their disciplined 1-0 victory over Palestine at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium.
The Australian coach praised the players for demonstrating strong mentality and commitment despite a short turnaround between international fixtures.
Cklamovski highlighted the team’s excellent performance during the first hour before requiring resilient defending in the final twenty minutes to secure the clean sheet.
He emphasised his belief in all Malaysian players after making seven changes from the previous game and utilising six substitutions during the match.
The coach credited the players for defeating a strong Palestinian side ranked within the world’s top 100 that had qualified for the Asian Cup.
Cklamovski stressed that Harimau Malaya focuses on team mentality rather than individual performances, celebrating two consecutive victories against Singapore and Palestine.
He revealed the winning goal resulted from a trained move executed perfectly, describing it as a goal by design that met their match expectations.
The team will now shift focus toward preparing for AFC Asian Cup qualifiers with emphasis on passing accuracy and set-piece consistency ahead of October.
Striker Joao Figueiredo scored the match’s only goal in the third minute by converting Quentin Cheng’s low cross for his third consecutive goal with the national team.
Palestine head coach Ehab Abu Jazar admitted that missing several key players contributed to his team’s loss against Malaysia.
Jazar congratulated Malaysia on their victory while praising their development as a strong and improved football nation.
He acknowledged the match provided opportunities to evaluate new players despite the absence of established squad members.
The Palestinian coach recognised the challenge of facing Malaysia, describing them as a developed team that made the contest difficult throughout. – Bernama
