Costly night out for players

A NIGHT out in Yangon, a day before the Myanmar team arrived in Kuantan on Wednesday, has left seven players with food poisoning.

"Five players have recovered but are weak while two others are currently on drips. They ate food outside a day before the flight. We need to re-shuffle our team as three are key players," said Myanmar team manager Tin Myint Aung yesterday.

Myanmar, who began preparation on Aug 12, have included several players from their Under-22 squad, who finished above Malaysia in controversial manner in last year's qualifiers in Yangon.

Malaysia youth coach Ong Kim Swee had alleged Myanmar fielded overage players in the qualifiers but could not provide evidence.

"We are using the tournament as part of our preparation for the Sea Games. As the hosts, we want to wrest the Sea Games title from Malaysia," Myint Aung, who played for M-League side Armed Forces between 1989-1991.

Meanwhile, Thailand manager Pornchai Thaithae admitted he has brought a make-shift squad to Kuantan.

"We have a squad of seniors and Under-23 players and most of them are from Nara United, the Division Two champions this season.

"We have 10 players eligible for the Sea Games and we will gauge their performance here. We couldn't bring our best due to their club commitments. I believe we can win this tournament," said Pornchai.

http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/costly-night-out-for-players/