U-22 Football Squad Marks 3-0 Win In Final China Tour Match

KUALA LUMPUR, June 16 (Bernama) -- The national Under-22 (U-22) football squad ended their tour of China with a 3-0 win over Guangzhou Evergrande’s reserve team in Guangzhou, China, Thursday. In the match which took place at the Baining Football Training Base, the national team coached by Ong Kim Swee grabbed the win through goals from Muhammad Jafri Muhammad Firdaus Chew in the 33rd minute, Muhammad Syafiq Ahmad (77th minute) and N. Thanabalan (89th minute). Commenting on the victory, Kim Swee said he was satisfied with the performance shown by his players after failing to win in previous two friendlies. The U-22 squad had lost 0-1 to China's U-22 squad on June 10 before drawing 2-2 against the reserve team of Guangzhou R & F, three days later. "This victory does not mean we have achieved great success, as we are still in the process of building a strong team. "For me, the important thing is for the players to maintain their form and improve existing weaknesses before we play against Melaka United in another friendly on June 22," he said. The national squad is expected to return home Friday. The China tour was part of the squad’s preparations ahead of the Asian Football Confederation U-23 qualifiers in Thailand, next month, as well as the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games in August. -- BERNAMA