Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuching: Coach Tam Iao San praised an organised second-half performance after Macau claimed a tightly fought 2-1 win over Mongolia in Group B of the AFC Solidarity Cup Malaysia 2016 at Sarawak Stadium on Thursday.
Nicholas Tarrao put the Macanese in front early on before Tuguldur Munkh-Erdene equalised on 29 minutes. But after Mongolia had created a number of chances early in the second half, Tarrao was again on hand to seal victory from close in with 15 minutes remaining.
The result moves Macau level on points with Laos at the top of the standings after the Laotians also won their opening fixture by the same scoreline over Sri Lanka in Thursday’s earlier Group B fixture.
“Mongolia put us under a lot of pressure but in the second half I tried to change things by putting two strikers up front in order to pressurise them,” said Tam, whose team will next take on Laos on Sunday.
“They played simple with the long ball but we wanted to keep possession. In the second half we tried to be more organised in midfield and use the space behind their defensive line.
“At the beginning of both halves we were under pressure but at half-time I told my players they had to concentrate and that they needed to defend well to cope with the high ball from both sides and the midfield.
“To get the victory was really important because we have the target to reach the semi-finals. Both teams did their best today and the game was 50/50. In the end it came down to who could finish the best.”
Mongolia began the match on the front foot and Sundorj Janchiv struck the woodwork inside five minutes before Munkh-Erdene deservedly made things all square after Tarrao's opener.
Toshiaki Imai’s team were again on top for long periods after the restart but the second goal proved elusive and as the game entered the final 20 minutes Tarrao’s winner had an air of inevitability about it.
Mongolia will next face Sri Lanka on Sunday in a clash that neither can afford to lose after the South Asians were also defeated in their first Group B fixture.
“I’m unhappy because we controlled the game but they only had a few chances and got two goals,” said Imai.
“We created many chances but our finishing was not so good; Macau were able to score from their first chance. We need to be calmer when we are on the ball in order to get more goals.
“I’m quite satisfied with my players. They showed good combination play but were not so good defensively.”
Photo: AFC