Laos poised to take on Malaysia

The Lao men's football team has its heart set on playing in the gold medal match on Thursday.

“Our team is much stronger now because we have a good professional football coach to train our players and bring them up to international standard. They have been practising hard and the results of their training are evident now they've reached the semi-final,” team manager Viphet Sihachackr said.

“We have to win tonight's game against Malaysia and it will be important for the team to have plenty of supporters there to cheer them on.”

Lao Coach Alfred Reidl said playing against Malaysia was a surprise because he thought the team would be up against Thailand instead.

“You can see how focused our players are but with some luck and good support today Laos will be the winner. There are many rumours that Malaysia are the stronger team but I don't think they will find it easy to beat Laos at home.”

Left winger Kaysone Soukhavong said after training at the Chao Anouvong Stadium on Saturday the team had confidence in the strategy of their coach and would win.

“We promise to play the best game for Laos so our supporters won't be disappointed and will enjoy the match.”

On the road to the semi-finals Laos drew 1-1 against Myanmar , had a 2-0 win against Indonesia and finished up with a goalless draw against Singapore . Laos is now top in Group B, with Singapore the runner-up.

Malaysia began their SEA Games campaign with an 11-0 victory win over Timor Leste, lost to Vietnam 1-3, and then beat Cambodia 4-0 and Thailand 2-1, which puts them as the runner-up in Group A.

The Lao Football Federation hopes Laos will do their best by beating Malaysia in the semi-finals tonight.

Laos beat Malaysia 1-0 in 1997 at the SEA Games in Jakarta , Indonesia , but both teams went out of the competition in the first round.

Laos will field its top players in the line-up against Malaysia . The team is injury free and is fully prepared for the game.

The match will kick off at 7pm at the National Stadium, while Singapore and Vietnam will play at 6pm at the Chao Anouvong Stadium.

By Souknilundon Southivongnorath
(Latest Update Decembe 14, 2009)