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Datuk Ong Kim Swee believes recovery is key to Malaysia's chances of beating hosts and Group H favourites Thailand in the AFC Under-23 Championship qualifier in Bangkok on Friday. The Malaysians won Wednesday's group opener comfortably with a 3-0 victory over Indonesia. But the War Elephants are likely to represent a step up in quality, despite the Thais being stunned by a late Mongolia equaliser for a 1-1 draw in farcical waterlogged conditions in the day's second game. Kim Swee believes the focus now has to be on ensuring the players who worked hard to defeat the Young Garuda can recover their strength in time. "We have started with a good win, but we know that it won't be easy playing Thailand after a hard game with Indonesia," Ong told ESPN FC. "What we need to do now is to go back to square one and, hopefully, the players will recover well before we face Thailand on Friday." However, Malaysia have some injury concerns, with goalscorer Syafiq Ahmad coming off injured and other players taking knocks. Ong admitted that he was unsure if Syafiq would be fit to face the Thais. "It's too early to say, but it looks quite serious, not only for Syafiq but a few other players who are suffering from some soreness," he said. "Of course, we will have to check on their condition but we have other players who can come in if necessary." After racing into a 3-0 lead in just 30 minutes against the Indonesians, Ong admitted that he was delighted with the way in which the players kept their focus in the second half. The Malaysians held firm throughout and goalkeeper Mohd Ifwat made a couple of excellent saves on the rare occasions he was called upon. "The first half was completely different from the second half," he said. "It's normal when you take an early lead and lead by three goals in the first half. But the boys kept their discipline very well, especially in their defending. But even though we had to do more defending in the second half, we still created chances." As well was keeping things tight at the back, Malaysia's ruthlessness in front of goal was another positive sign ahead of the crunch clash with the Thais. Malaysia came into the tournament missing several players who had not been released by their clubs, but still found the right blend to dismiss the challenge of Indonesia. "I believe Indonesia has a good team," he said. "But our players took their chances. In the second half, Indonesia came back strongly but the three goals we had scored came from good moves and two involved set pieces. "We have the win, but we still have to face Thailand and Mongolia. I hope after this win, the players will play with more confidence. Even though we had just a couple of days to prepare in Bangkok, the players who are involved really wanted to prove something and we have shown with the spirit we have, we can achieve something." The Malaysian head coach will now hope that the two days between now, and the clash with the Thais will be enough for his injured players to recover. It is not just the players who require recovery time, however. The heavens opened following Malaysia's game and Thailand and Mongolia played on a waterlogged pitch after kick off was delayed for over an hour. The Mongolians' late penalty, from which they equalised, came as a direct result of the conditions as the ball got stuck in a puddle to wrong foot a defender. All four Group H teams will hope that the Bangkok weather eases off before they take to the field again on Friday.
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