17 Jan Safee wants Malaysia to give good fight

NATIONAL striker Safee Sali isn’t setting a high target for the Asian Cup qualifier against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) tomorrow – all he wants is a fighting performance from Malaysia. UAE, who arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, are licking their wounds after being eliminated from the Gulf Cup and Safee expects a backlash, especially as they were the defending champions. “It is not going to be an easy match as we will be up against one of the best teams in the Middle East,” said the Selangor striker. Safee said the short training stint would also make it difficult for Malaysia. “We did not have enough time to prepare for the match but the players have been giving their best in training and we promise our best.”

Perhaps the players already know what is in store in this campaign for the mood in training has been sombre but still, Malaysia have a duty to perform. UAE have promised they won’t make it easy as they want to redeem themselves after their Gulf Cup exit. Team manager Esmail Rashid said they are only interested in winning, “The match is of great importance to us after we lost in the Gulf Cup recently. “A win against Malaysia will be a big boost and help the players regain their morale ahead of the other Asian Cup and World Cup qualifiers,” Rashid said.