Wasteful Tigers
Malaysia go down to Vietnam despite lion’s share of possession
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s winning run in the AFF Suzuki Cup grinded to a halt after they went down 2-0 to Vietnam in their penultimate Group A match at the My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi.
The Harimau Malaya’s lack of bite in their opponents’ final third cost them dearly in a match that they dominated as goals from winger Nguyen Cong Phuong (11th minute) and Nguyen Anh Duc (60th) gave the hosts the win last night.
Vietnam and Myanmar, have six points after two matches but Myanmar top the group with a better goal difference ahead of Vietnam, while Malaysia have six points from three matches. Both Cambodia (two games) and Laos (three) are still without a point.
Malaysia coach Tan Cheng Hoe, as expected, shuffled his squad by deploying a 4-2-3-1 formation, bringing in attackers Shahrel Fikri Md Fauzi, Mohamadou Sumareh and Akhyar Rashid with midfielder Syamer Kutty Abba. The quartet replaced Safawi Rasid, Zaquan Adha Abdul Razak, Syazwan Zainon and Syafiq Ahmad.
Vietnam, cheered on by a sellout crowd, started the match aggressively but Malaysia quickly settled in by taking charge with midfielder Akram Mahinan running the engine room.
Rightback Syahmi Safari and Sumareh’s combination on the right flank and left winger Akhyar’s dribbling troubled the Vietnamese backline but they could not deliver the killer pass to strikers Shahrel and Norshahrul Idlan Talaha.
Malaysia’s wastefulness was punished as a counter-attacking move exposed the Malaysian defence with Cong Phuong sidefooting a loose ball in the box pass goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat for thefirst goal.
Stunned by the goal, Malaysia redoubled their effort and con- trolled the match but still struggled to beat the disciplined Vietnamese defence led by skipper Que Ngoc Hai and ended the first half a goal down
Malaysia restarted with their superior ball possession and pressed hard for the equaliser but to no avail.
Cheng Hoe then brought in striker Safawi and Ahmad Hazwan Bakri for Shahrel and Sumareh to get the much needed equaliser.
Safawi, who came on in the 58th minute, could have broken the duck for Malaysia but his free-kick from the edge of the box was pushed to safety by Vietnam goalkeeper Dang Van Lam.
Malaysia’s hopes of a comeback were dented after Anh Duc doubled his side’s lead against the run of play with a left-foot shot outside of the box.
Sensing victory, Vietnam played a compact game to hold on to their lead and record their second win on the trot.