DOHA: Some of the Harimau Malaya players refused to speak to the Malaysian media after their 4-0 loss to Jordan in their Asian Cup Group E opening match at the Al Janoub Stadium on Monday.
With disappointment etched on their faces, the players avoided looking at the media personnel as they trudged past the interview zone to head straight to the team bus to go back to the hotel.
However, nippy winger Faisal Halim, who stopped briefly, said his teammates were just disappointed that they failed to produce the result that all Malaysians had hoped for.
"Losing 4-0 is not something we expected. None of us expected it to happen because we trained hard over the past three weeks and the opportunity (to get a positive result) was there but we were undone by the two early goals we conceded… one was a penalty and the other was a long-range shot.
"This is not the time to blame anyone. We must improve on our weaknesses. (Coach) Kim (Pan Gon) has done all he can for the team but we must be realistic about the quality we have and the level (of performance) that we are used to," said the 25-year-old.
Faisal, however, did not rule out the possibility that nervousness about playing at the highest level of Asian football may have contributed to the big defeat and their failure to give their best.
He said they must quickly forget about the defeat and bounce back in the two remaining group matches against Bahrain and two-time champions South Korea if they are to have any hopes of advancing to the round of 16.
"We still have two more matches. It's going to be very difficult to advance (to the last 16), but in football, we must work hard and give our best to make our fellow Malaysians proud," he said.
Meanwhile, midfielder Stuart Wilkin, who also spent a few minutes with the Malaysia media, admitted that the heavy defeat was hard to take.
"It was very disappointing and (we) made it difficult for ourselves by conceding two goals so early. So, it was always an uphill battle from there. I think we have to look at the game… how and what went wrong and try to put things right and plan for the next game," said the 25-year-old.
.As Jordan trounced Malaysia 4-0, courtesy of a brace each from Mahmoud Almardi (12th and 32nd minutes) and Mousa Altamari (18th, 86th), South Korea also got off to a winning start when they beat Bahrain 3-1 in the other Group E match.
Malaysia will next take on Bahrain at the Jassim Bin Hammad Stadium on Saturday before completing their group fixture against South Korea on Jan 25. --BERNAMA