Nobody saw it coming. After what transpired in the first leg last weekend, everyone was well aware of the talent that existed within Toshiya Miura’s squad. Van Quyet was absolutely sensational in that first leg, while Le Cong Vinh systematically dismantled the inexperienced Malaysian defence using his sheer positional awareness.
That was precisely why the pre-match sentiments prior to the second leg, was dominated by talks of a comeback and how the Malaysian players needed to believe in themselves. If losing 2-1 at home was already bad enough, they had to turn things around in an environment that would be hostile to them. Fans throughout Twitter insisted that the team has enough quality to effectively complete mission; and maybe they were right all along. But there are valid reasons as to why Dollah deserves a special mention for last night’s result.
His reaction after the first leg was straightforward; saying that his team deserved to lose because they were missing in action. But he didn’t stop there; he went on to also claim that their issues would be sorted out before the second leg. Even in the pre-match press conference in Hanoi, Dollah appeared to be extremely confident, when compared to Toshiya Miura, who was relatively cautious with his statements. The Japanese head coach claimed that his side will need to be careful, while Dollah merely said he was confident of seeing his players getting the job done.
Then came the starting line-up, which validated Dollah’s influence on the team. He has never been a character that would usually shy away from making big decisions, and it was no different this time around. Mahali, who was largely ineffective in the first leg, was dropped from the starting 11 with Dollah opting to use S. Kunanlan in that role. Shukor Adan and Amri Yahya both returned to the starting line up. With Hafiz Kamal and Gary Steven both carrying knocks, he opted to put Piya alongside Safiq, a combination that has never really worked in the past. It was a gamble and Dollah was well aware of it. And of course, the legendary Indra Putra was also given a starting berth.
But the gamble worked. Within the first two minutes, Indra Putra was already wrecking havoc within the Vietnamese defence, and was eventually brought down inside the box. Safiq Rahim stepped up and scored to put Malaysia 1-0 up. What was even more impressive as the game progressed, was the combination between Safiq and Badri and how they complemented each other in containing the threat posed by Van Quyet.
Eyebrows were also raised when Norshahrul was selected over Safee Sali to play alone upfront, considering how ineffective the ex-Kelantan forward was in the first leg. But Dollah knew the combination between Amri and Norshahrul could be beneficial to Malaysia and it definitely turned out to be the case as both individuals combined for Malaysia’s second goal.
Even Kunanlan adapted well to his new position last night, maintaining his discipline throughout the game, while also offering adequate offensive threat down the flanks. Zubir was equally stellar on the other flanks. While this may seem like individual plaudits, bear in mind that both men were put through their paces during training sessions over the past two days. Kunanlan was specifically prepared by Dollah for the right back position, and he executed it brilliantly.
But what makes a coach terrific, is purely decision-making skills. The tempo of the match got a little volatile in the last 20 minutes, as Vietnam upped their tempo and started pumping men upfront. Dollah did not immediately switch to defensive mode, but waited a few minutes before introducing two defenders to park the bus and effectively nullify Vietnam’s offensive attempts. The timing was spot on, and lethargy eventually got the better of Cong Vinh and co, allowing Malaysia to secure a 4-2 win that secured their progression into the final.
At the end of the day, the players deserve credit for fighting hard and keeping their composure for the entire 90 minutes. But without the architect in Dollah Salleh, you probably wouldn’t have Malaysians flooding into the AirAsia website today, looking for cheap flights to Bangkok on the 17th of December.
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