KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia skipper Dion Cools is determined to keep a clean sheet in the Causeway derby against Singapore at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil tomorrow.
Harimau Malaya are on a six-match unbeaten run at home, with their last defeat coming in the 2-0 loss to Oman in the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup Group D qualifying match.
The team have only conceded one goal this year in the 1-1 draw against Cape Verde in a friendly match on May 29.
Cools hopes that his teammates can maintain their form following the spectacular 4-0 win over Vietnam in the Asian Cup qualifiers last June.
The 29-year-old, who has scored four goals at the National Stadium, said he enjoys playing in front of the home crowd.
“I never take playing in front of our fans for granted. It’s always amazing and I hope we can give another performance tomorrow that will have people talking,” said the Cerezo Osaka player in today’s pre-match press conference.
“It’s a team effort and we’ve done a good, solid job so far. We hope to keep it up for the next matches as well.
“That’s something we as a team try to achieve and we hope to play some good football tomorrow. We want to dominate every game as much as possible. I think it’s important to play our brand of football and hopefully we’ll score a lot of goals.”
Meanwhile, national team coach Peter Cklamovski said there is no such thing as a starting or reserve line-up as all the players have shown full commitment throughout the training camp.
Cklamovski is expected to rotate his players against Singapore before they take on Palestine at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium on Sept 8.
“There’s never a best XI. I trust every player and this camp, again, is going to be two tough games. What’s important for us as a team is that no matter who plays, we play our own style of football.”
“Whoever’s on the pitch, we have an understanding of what’s required to play our game and help each other on the field. We hope to keep a clean sheet and get the win for the fans,” he added.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
