After convincingly ending defending champions
Chonburi FC’s reign, Harimau Muda U-16 go into tomorrow’s first-leg final of
the FAM-Frenz Asia Champions Trophy Under-16 2014 against PVF Vietnam looking
to seize the opportunity at the Thong Nhat Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City.
Although PVF Vietnam has not been defeated at
home in the competition, Harimau Muda Coach S. Balachandran strongly believes his
players have the pedigree, character and discipline to overcome the pressure and
leave with a positive result.
“First of all I would like to thank Frenz
United for organising this big competition for the Under-16 boys which has been
a good platform to gain experience and improve their skills,” said Balachandran
at a pre-match press conference which was also attended by PVF Vietnam head
coach Nguyen Phuc Nguyen Chuong, captain Tran Van Hoa and his Harimau Muda
Under-16 compatriot, Mohd Shahrul Akmal in Ho Chi Minh City.
“It is a good opportunity for my boys as well
for them (PVF Vietnam) for the exposure and also prepare for the forthcoming AFC
Under-16 Championships in Bangkok."
He added that the players have been together
for 18 months and played in total 35 international matches this year. In the
last 18 months, they have shown tremendous improvements with more attacking
games and high scoring results.
For the record, Harimau Muda U-16 suffered a
2-1 defeat against PVF Vietnam in the first round of their group stage match
played at the same venue. However, in an astonishing reversal of fortunes, the
Malaysians cruised through 3-0 at Janda Baik in their second round encounter.
"We lost 2-1 to PVF Vietnam in group
stage because it was played during the Fasting month. Most of my players were
fasting and it was really a hot season in Ho Chi Minh City. My game tempo was
slow and the players got tired very fast,” said Balachandran.
“I can honestly say the boys are all fired up
for the final and we will adopt the same game-style in our victory over
Chonburi FC (6-1 aggregate) when we play PVF Vietnam tomorrow. We have come to
win and want to return home with the pressure on them instead,” he added.
Striker Kogisleswaran Raj, who took the brunt
of the knocks and kicks against Chonburi FC in a highly-tensed second-leg
semi-finals tie last week, is back on his feet to lead the charge together with
Muhammad Najmuddin Samat, Muhammad Zulkahiri Mohd and skipper Mohd Shahrul
Akmal who were all instrumental in Harimau Muda’s 6-1 aggregate win over
Chonburi FC.
Young
tiger’s skipper, Shahrul Akmal, quipped: "We will play our best with the
aim to score more goals and return home with a win. We will definitely go all
out.”
Meanwhile, PVF Vietnam head coach Nguyen Phuc
Nguyen Chuong said the mood in the Vietnamese camp is equally vibrant with high
expectations following their superb run.
“It's big
competition for my Under-16 boys. We
have seen a big improvement from the players compared to last year. The
experience has been great,” added Nguyen Phuc.
“We are very excited to play Harimau Muda
once again but this time we meet in the final. It is a very different situation
now compared to the last time we met but I believe the pressure is on both
teams to win here,” said Nguyen, through an interpreter.
The Vietnamese, firing on all-cylinders, will
place much hopes on their top scorer Nguyen Vu Tin who scored a hat-trick
against Frenz United Malaysia in the first-leg semi-finals in Ho Chi Minh City
to get the goals against the young tigers.
However, Nguyen Phuc dismissed this by
saying: “Every player in our team is capable of scoring so it’s not all about
just Vu Tin. We have a good team and are looking forward to this tie which
should be very exciting.”
#ACT2014 #FrenzUnited
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