TALING JAYA: National Under-23 coach Ong Kim Swee sees their friendly against the Myanmar national team on Feb 22 in Yangon as the right stage to gauge his players’ mental and physical preparedness.

Kim Swee said that the team’s playing tour of Australia earlier this month was their pre-season tour and that it achieved its objectives.

The national Under-23 side had 10 new players for the Australian stint, including K. Prabakaran of Sime Darby and S. Sivanesan of Negri Sembilan. And Kim Swee was happy with the newcomers’ performances.

“The trip to Australia was more of a pre-season … where I wanted expose the newcomers to our playing philosophy,” said Kim Swee.

“The eight new boys and the other two M-League players responded well to our training in Australia and I’m very happy with their performances and determination. They blended well with the old hands in the team.”

The Malaysians defeated Premier League (APL) sides Gold Coast Sharks 5-1 and Brisbane Lions 2-1 and lost to Brisbane Olympics FC 2-1 before thrashing Queensland Academy of Sports Under-19 team 7-0.

The Harimau Muda A boys will leave for Slovakia for a six-month playing tour against top Corgon Liga (Division One) teams from March to August, where they are to play 15 matches.

“We’ll play Myanmar’s senior side and it will us a better insight into the players’ conditions – both mental and physical – before the trip to Slovakia,” said Kim Swee.

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