Malaysia head coach Dollah Salleh is worried about his team's inconsistent home form ahead of the first leg of the AFF Suzuki Cup final against Thailand on Dec. 17.
That's despite Malaysia doing well on their travels in the Southeast Asian tournament. After a 3-1 victory over Singapore in their final group game at the Sports Hub on Nov. 29, the Malaysians stunned Vietnam on Thursday night with a 4-2 victory in Hanoi against Vietnam in the semifinal second leg.
Harimau Malaya silenced the partisan crowd at My Dinh Stadium with goals from Safiq Rahim, Norshahrul Idlan Talaha, Shukor Adan and an own-goal off a deflection from Indra Putra Mahayuddin's cross. After the first leg was 2-1 in favour of Vietnam, the tie ended 5-4 on aggregate to Dollah's men.
The first leg of the final will be in Bangkok next Wednesday before they head home to Kuala Lumpur for the second leg three days later.
Dollah said: "We play better away from home and this could be a problem as the second leg is in Kuala Lumpur."
The former Pahang FA boss also expressed shock that his team managed to score four goals in the first-half. He explained how he had given specific instructions to his attackers to play long balls down the middle to unsettle the home side.
"I did not expect four goals in the first half. We scored from all our chances and we played safe after the break. We made mistakes in Shah Alam but (in Hanoi) we were not wasteful. I am surprised with Vietnam's poor defending but they played better in the second half," said Dollah.
"I told the team to penetrate their defence by playing long balls into their penalty box and it paid dividends. After only five months on the job, this is a very good achievement for me."
Dollah added that striker Safee Sali's absence from his starting lineup was caused by injury, after the Johor Darul Takzim forward hurt his groin in training on Wednesday. That resulted in Indra Putra Mahayuddin coming into the team in his place.
The Malaysians will now play in their second Suzuki Cup final, seeking to win their ASEAN title for the first time since 2010.