Malaysia should've deserved to win against Hong Kong, says Vingada

Despite barely escaping with a point against Hong Kong on Tuesday night, Malaysia head coach Nelo Vingada was adamant that his team were the better side.

With the game locked at 1-1 with only seconds remaining, the Harimau Malaya were down to nine players and gave away a penalty kick that could've dealt a huge blow to their 2019 AFC Asian Cup aspiration.

However, it was saved by goalkeeper Hafizul Hakim Khairul Nizam Jothy to see the Tigers pick up their first point in Group B.

"This is a team with characters and a strong spirit, always fighting, running and creating a lot of chances," he said immediately after the game.

"To be honest, a draw is not enough [based on] what happened in the game.

"Although they [Hong Kong] are also a good team with some good players, we were better and created more chances, and today we [should've] deserved to win."

Besides that, the Portuguese said there were positives to take away from the Hang Jebat Stadium.

"Although we did not win, which can happen sometimes, I believe we put away the negative vibes of losing," he added.

Prior to this game, Malaysia had lost three consecutive games since Vingada took charge in May.