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KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s 3-0 win over Maldives today proves that the Harimau Malaya are ready to kickstart their AFF Cup campaign against Myanmar next Wednesday.
At the Tier 1 International match today at the Kuala Lumpur Stadium in Cheras, Malaysian frontman Darren Lok almost found the back of the net in the 10th minute, but his point-blank attempt was denied by Maldivian keeper Hussain Shareef in front of 6,002 spectators.
However, Darren’s persistence paid off in the 24th minute after a rebound from the Maldives’ keeper gave the number nine forward room to break the deadlock.
The score remained the same as Maldives struggled to create chances and Malaysia’s Dominic Tan stood firm on the defensive line.
The second half saw Harimau Malaya head coach Kim Pan-gon make a switch and bring out Lee Tuck for captain Muhammad Safawi Rasid, and left-back Ruventhiran swapped for Mohd Nor Hakim Hassan.
Malaysia then doubled their lead in the 64th minute after Selangor winger Muhammad Faisal Abdul Halim controlled the ball well in front of the Maldivian keeper and managed to put it past him.
Making his second appearance for Harimau Malaya, Tuck made it 3-0 for Malaysia as he scored his second goal for the national squad in the 88th minute, just moments after a previous header attempt had rattled the crossbar.
Malaysia defeated Cambodia 4-0 last Friday in their first Tier 1 International match, which saw Faisal score two goals, while debutants Tuck and Stuart Wilkin bagged their first goals for the national side.
At the post-match press conference, Pan-gon admitted that his men were off to a shaky start in the first half.
“It was not a smooth game in the first 45 minutes. We were struggling and that is something we have to look back on and analyse,” he said.
Although the Malaysian team were slightly late to emerge out of the tunnel for the start of the second half, Pan-gon denied that the players were subjected to a scolding in the locker room.
“I never scold them. They have tried their best so what is the point of getting angry?
“We encouraged them to do better, and you could see in the second half that they did improve their game,” he added.
Malaysia will now prepare for their AFF Cup campaign but the South Korean head coach has yet to make up his mind on which players he would want on the starting line-up.
“Tonight is not just a test for individual players. We need to keep the winning momentum going.
“Things can be shaken up and I can’t say who will be in the final squad just yet,” said the 53-year-old manager.
Malaysia will start their AFF Cup campaign against Myanmar first on December 21, followed by Laos on December 24, Vietnam on December 27, and Singapore on January 3. – The Vibes, December 15, 2022