Malaysia finally found their winning touch when they beat Timor Leste 4-0 in a Group A men’s football match of the 30th SEA Games at the Rizal Memorial Stadium on Monday night.
The young Tigers, who drew 1-1 with Myanmar on Monday and lost to the Philippines 1-0 on Friday, needed to win to keep their hopes of reaching the knockout stage alive.
Head coach Ong Kim Swee fielded two national Under-18 stars, Luqman Hakim Shamsudin and Umar Hakeem, in the starting XI, while the place of Akhyar Abdul Rashid, who earlier suffered an ankle injury, was filled by Faisal Abdul Halim.
Malaysia began aggressively and took the lead thanks to an own goal by Timor Leste’s Filomeno Junior da Costa in the fifth minute.
Fagiano Okayama striker Hadi Fayyadh Abdul Razak then increased the lead when he converted a short pass from Syahmi Safari, which slipped through the Timor Leste defence in the 34th minute.
The 19-year-old scored again in the 44th minute, latching onto the ball which bounced off the post following Faisal’s attempt.
After the interval, Ong brought on Akhyar for Faisal, and the Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) winger justified his presence by scoring in the 81st minute to make it 4-0.
In another Group A match, Myanmar edged Cambodia 2-1 at the Binan Football Stadium to confirm their semi-final spot.
Cambodia, Malaysia and the Philippines now have four points each in Group A, all vying to secure the second semi-final ticket on Wednesday.
Facing Cambodia, Malaysia must beat them to stand a chance of going through, but it also depends on the outcome of the Philippines' match against Timor-Leste.
The young Tigers, who drew 1-1 with Myanmar on Monday and lost to the Philippines 1-0 on Friday, needed to win to keep their hopes of reaching the knockout stage alive.
Head coach Ong Kim Swee fielded two national Under-18 stars, Luqman Hakim Shamsudin and Umar Hakeem, in the starting XI, while the place of Akhyar Abdul Rashid, who earlier suffered an ankle injury, was filled by Faisal Abdul Halim.
Malaysia began aggressively and took the lead thanks to an own goal by Timor Leste’s Filomeno Junior da Costa in the fifth minute.
Fagiano Okayama striker Hadi Fayyadh Abdul Razak then increased the lead when he converted a short pass from Syahmi Safari, which slipped through the Timor Leste defence in the 34th minute.
The 19-year-old scored again in the 44th minute, latching onto the ball which bounced off the post following Faisal’s attempt.
After the interval, Ong brought on Akhyar for Faisal, and the Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) winger justified his presence by scoring in the 81st minute to make it 4-0.
In another Group A match, Myanmar edged Cambodia 2-1 at the Binan Football Stadium to confirm their semi-final spot.
Cambodia, Malaysia and the Philippines now have four points each in Group A, all vying to secure the second semi-final ticket on Wednesday.
Facing Cambodia, Malaysia must beat them to stand a chance of going through, but it also depends on the outcome of the Philippines' match against Timor-Leste.
