KUALA LUMPUR: Striker Darren Lok dismissed the claims that the "not so perfect" pitch at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil played a part in Malaysia's 2-0 defeat by Oman in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.
Days before the match, netizens had uploaded pictures of the pitch with some brown patches as a result of a recent Ed Sheeran concert. And some fans felt that the Malaysian team might not be able to play good football because of this.
However, Darren said both teams played under the same conditions, and it should not be used as an excuse for the Harimau Malaya's loss.
"It (the field) wasn't so bad... we can't use the pitch as an excuse. Both teams had to play on it and tonight (Tuesday) is not our night, Oman got the win, we are disappointed," said Darren.
"We prepared well, the coaches gave us everything and we trained hard but the timing hasn't been ideal."
Darren lamented that the national players missed competitive matches for almost two months due to the new M-League season being pushed back to May. And this, he felt, took the wind out of the team's sail.
The Malaysians lacked match fitness, and this was also evident in their 2-0 loss to Oman in the away leg in Muscat last week.
The two back-to-back losses in Oman have left Malaysia's hopes of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in tatters. Malaysia are third in Group D with six points. Kyrgyzstan are top with nine points followed by second-placed Oman, also with nine points. Winless Taiwan are last.