Arif lets his football do the talking for Harimau Malaya

JAKARTA: Harimau Malaya winger Arif Aiman Hanapi prefers to let his performances on the pitch do the talking after catching the eye with his ability to take on players with European experience.

Asked about his success in getting past opponents who have played in Europe, including members of the Indonesia squad, Arif simply smiled before giving a brief response.

"I don't want to say anything. You can see it yourselves, right? Okay?" he said.

His answer reflected a player more interested in being judged by his football after his pace, confidence and willingness to run at Indonesia's defence stood out in the meeting between the two sides.

The Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) winger repeatedly showed he was not intimidated by physically bigger opponents or those with experience in Europe, particularly in one-on-one situations.

However, Arif was quick to shift the focus away from his individual display and towards Harimau Malaya's overall performance in Group A.

Malaysia opened their campaign with a 3-0 win over Bangladesh, held Indonesia to a goalless draw and then thrashed Singapore 6-0 in their final group match.

The results left Harimau Malaya with nine goals scored and none conceded in three matches.

"For me, the Malaysian supporters don't need to be disappointed. There is no need to criticise us because we have given our best in these three matches without conceding.

"We have performed better than some of the teams here, and perhaps this team will become even stronger in the future," said Arif.

Midfielder Stuart Wilkin also believes Harimau Malaya have plenty to be proud of despite the disappointment of missing out on the final.

"We are proud of what we have achieved. We have scored nine goals in this tournament and have not conceded, so it is difficult to believe that we did not qualify for the final.

"Of course we are disappointed, but we are proud of what we have achieved," he said.

Stuart added that the team's progress over the three matches was equally encouraging, particularly with new players being integrated into the squad and changes to the coaching set-up.

He said building understanding within the team would take time, but there were already signs of improvement with every match.

"I think with every game we have become more confident as a group. Of course, we have new players in the squad and we need to build that understanding.

"So it is a learning process, but I think we have improved with every game. I am very pleased with the tournament.

"We are obviously happy that we still have one more game to play and, of course, we want to win that one as well," he said.

Malaysia will now turn their attention to Vietnam in the third-place playoff at Gelora Bung Karno on Monday.