Harimau Malaya succumbed to pressure, Pan Gon apologizes
National Head Coach Kim Pan Gon at the final match of Pestabola Merdeka 2023 between Malaysia against Tajikistan at Bukit Jalil National Stadium. - BERNAMA photo
October 18, 2023 06:45 MYTH
KUALA LUMPUR: Harimau Malaya manager Kim Pan Gon was clearly disappointed and admitted that his men failed to perform well despite great pressure to win the 2023 Pestabola Merdeka after losing 2-0 to Tajikistan in the final last night.
The South Korean-born coach apologized to Malaysians who had high expectations for the team to emerge champions but unfortunately failed to do so.
"We ourselves were under pressure and also failed to deal with the pressure from the fans and also the opponents," he said at the post-match press conference here.
He said, he deserves to be blamed and takes full responsibility for the pace of the game and the tactics demanded of the players during the match.
Pan Gon said that it was unfair to criticize the players as they had done well in dominating the match and playing with energy against the 110th ranked team in the world.
Therefore, the 54-year-old coach said the crushing defeat to Petar Segrt's squad was a 'wake-up call' and a lot of work needed to be done to improve the Malayan Tigers' team, ranked 134th in the world ahead of the Group D second qualifier for the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup. , next month.
"Experiences like this are painful but we will learn from our mistakes. In the end, this is not the end of the world," he said.
Harimau Malaya will play Kyrgyzstan in the World Cup 2026/Asia Cup 2027 qualifier at Bukit Jalil National Stadium on Nov 16 before traveling to Taiwan on Nov 21.
Segrt, meanwhile, was overjoyed, praising his players' discipline throughout the match which played a key role in winning the tournament in their first appearance.
"So from my side, congratulations to these great players and I think the whole country of Tajikistan was surprised. I think we deserved this victory. We played very clearly and very organized," he said.
Tajikistan scored in each half through Soirov Rustam in the 44th minute and substitute Samiev Shahrom in the 88th minute to win the trophy.
BERNAMA
