Rapid Reaction: Malaysia 1:0 Palestine (International Friendly)
September Friendly woes continue as Palestine left with a slew of questions following loss to side ranked 27 spots below them
Palestine Starting XI: Rami Hamadi, Musab Al-Battat (C) (Musa Farawi 89’), Michel Termanini, Yaser Hamed Mayor, Ahmed Taha (Wajdi Nabhan 46’); Hamed Hemdan (Hamza Hussein 81’), Odai Kharoub, Adam Kaied (Mahmoud Abu Warda 58’); Tamer Seyam (Omar Faraj 81’), Badr Moussa (Felipe Massri 89’), Wessam Abou Ali.
Cautions: Oday Kharoub, Mahmoud Abu Warda, Badr Moussa
Goals: João Figueiredo 4’
HIGHLIGHTS
Recap: Palestine manager Ehab Abu Jazar went to great lengths in the pre-match press conference to stress the challenges facing the team. There were the numerous absences- seven individuals were listed by name. There was the fact that the team never preformed well in September. It was almost as if he was trying to manage expectations.
Malaysia, on the other hand came to play. The hosts needed all of one minute to signal their intent carving up Palestine’s left flank and putting in a dangerous cross. Two minutes later the same pattern of play left Palestine exposed again. Ahmed Taha was chasing shadows and by the time the dust settled João Figueiredo had given Malaysia their first goal against Palestine since 2001.
Things did not get better for Palestine who were left bereft of ideas in the attacking third. Rami Hamadi came to the side’s rescue in the 23rd minute swatting away a long range effort from Shahrul Saad. The next minute, Ahmed Taha was skinned again, Figueiredo eventually found the ball in the box but his effort was directed straight at Rami Hamadi. Three minutes later Aiman Arif latched onto a long ball and once again Hamadi’s positioning saved the team.
Palestine produced their first chance in the 34th minute with a Tamer Seyam cross finding the opposite winger Badr Moussa. The Petrojet man made good contact with the ball but a strong forearm from Syiham Azmi denied Palestine an undeserved equalizer.
Seconds later, Malaysia sprung the offsides trap and if not for Rami Hamadi’s expertise Gabriel Palermo would have made it 2-0. The Shefa’Amr native covered the width of his net to get in front of Palermo and deny him with a kick save.
At halftime, Ahmed Taha was mercifully substituted for Wajdi Nabhan. The personnel change and the halftime team talk seemed to solve the defensive lapses. A pair of half chances fell to Moussa and Wajdi Nabhan in the 62nd and 70th minutes but Palestine remained bereft of ideas in the attacking third.
Crosses were Palestine’s only weapon but they hardly bothered the Malaysian goalkeeper. Palestine could have nicked a draw in the dying embers of the match but Wessam Abou Ali’s free kick hit the upright and bounced out- awarding Malaysia a deserved win in Johor.
What I Liked: There was a tribute to Suleiman Obeid (although even the PFA got his birthday wrong- he was born on October 28, 1981 and not March 24, 1984) before kickoff. The Malaysian fans were their usual classy selves and it seems that both sides evaded injury.
What I didn’t Like: The PFA turned down to play Indonesia four days ago because they would not have time to prepare. If this is preparation I shudder to think what the team would have looked like without it.
Malaysia carved Palestine up in the first half. They had no in-game solutions to stop their transition or their exploitation of the left flank. Offensively, the middle of the pitch was a barren desert. In response to this disaster, only a single change was made at halftime and the shape was retained. Predictably, Palestine were unable to truly put Malaysia under real pressure.
Nabhan and Abu Warda were the only substitutes to get a real run out. Everyone else got a courtesy appearance- so we learned nothing about Faraj or the debutants Hamza Hussein and Felipe Massri.
What we Learned: Adam Kaied is not a #10 and he probably should not start matches. His best performances come out on the wing where he has space to operate and the ability to run at defenders. This should be blatantly obvious now. If you want an advanced midfielder to play in a 4-3-3 call up Moustafa Zeidan and work to integrate him.
Palestine really needs Ataa Jaber and Agustín Manzur as those are the type of midfielders who can control the tempo of the game with their passing.
Ehab Abu Jazar needs a competent performance ASAP. Right now his reputation is being bolstered by the fact that Palestine scored four set piece goals at the tail end of their WCQ run to pull themselves back into contention. The other two goals? Crosses.
Stat Attack: Palestine’s record in September matches (not counting Asian or World Cup qualifiers) stands at 1 Win (vs. Bangladesh in 2021), 1 Win after extra time (vs. Chinese Taipei in 2014), 3 Draws (vs. Tajikistan in 2016, vs. Kyrgyzstan in 2018) and 10 Losses.
What’s Next: Palestine will announce upcoming friendlies soon but don’t expect them to play more than one match each in the October and November windows.