Football
Nicolas Anil 7y

Malaysia U22 coach Bernhardt happy with second-half showing vs. Brunei

Frank Bernhardt attributed the fighting spirit of his makeshift Malaysia Under-22 squad, who turned on the style in the second half to beat their Brunei counterparts 2-0 in a friendly at the Paroi Stadium on Thursday.

Kedah striker Syafiq Ahmad emerged hero of the night, scoring both goals with thumping headers from set pieces to give the German coach some respite, after the 2-1 loss to Bahrain U22 in the September friendly.

"We are missing six to seven players at the moment, and this was the chance for some of the younger players to impress us coaches. Some of them did well, including Syafiq," said Bernhardt.

"Few of my players reported for national training late, so there was nothing to shout about our first half performance. But the second half was totally different, we created chances, and more importantly took them."

Bernhardt was using the friendly to find the right combination of players ahead of the regional Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur next year, which the German is expected to deliver gold.

The former Azerbaijan FA technical director was initially promised a full-time squad to work with in early 2016, but the Football Association of Malaysia made a U-turn and asked the players to return to their respective teams just two weeks after they reported to him.

But the 47-year-old still managed to guide the Malaysians to the inaugural Nations Cup final, before they lost 2-1 to Thailand in June. The team then went on a friendly tour of Japan later that month, where they drew 3-3 with Machida Zelvia, before suffering a 1-0 loss to Shonan Bellmare.

Two friendlies against Bahrain ensued after -- a goalless draw on Aug. 30, before they lost 2-1 on Sep. 2. Malaysia will play Brunei in another friendly on Saturday.

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