KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia have taken the advantage of going into the AFF Cup semi-final’s second leg on January 10 as they win 1-0 against Thailand today.
At the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in front of 62,989 spectators, Thailand were strong in the opening minutes, having several clear header opportunities to take the lead.
But in the 10th minute, forward Muhamad Faisal Abdul Halim seized the chance to the Harimau Malaya a goal by tapping in an assist from defender Ruventhiran.
Thailand’s effort to equalise in the first half proved difficult as they could not penetrate the Malaysian defensive line.
The War Elephants did come close on several occasions as good ball control from Bordin Phala gave him a chance, but the shot went above the crossbar in the 23rd minute.
Malaysia also had a chance to double the lead. Quentin Cheng came face-to-face with Thai goalkeeper Kittipong Phoothawchuek after receiving a great through ball from Faisal, but the shot was off-target.
In the second half, Thailand came out strong as they got several close chances that were not enough to get passed Malaysian keeper Ahmad Syihan Hazmi Mohamed.
The Harimau Malaya then thought they had doubled their advantage, but the goal by Darren Lok was disallowed after Thai player Pansa Hembivoon went down, even though it was his own keeper that made contact with the player’s face.
The incident led to both team players being involved in an on-field scuffle, and fans showed their dissatisfaction as some threw water bottles onto the pitch when Thailand had a corner minutes later.
After the match, Harimau Malaya head coach Kim Pan-gon said even though the team won tonight, the fight is far from over.
“It was a very tough game, but this is just the first leg.
“Now we need to recover and prepare for the next match in Thailand,” he said.
Pan-gon added that the Malaysian team could have scored more today, but so could Thailand.
“Even though 1-0 win is not enough, more importantly, we did not give any goals away.
“Because of the away goal advantage, we could not afford to concede goals,” he added.
When asked about the controversial referring, Pan-gon jokingly said, “I don’t want to comment because I don’t have the money to pay any fines.”
The man of the match, Ruventhiran said it was tough to defend the Thai team.
“It was very tough, but we got it done. It is all thanks to the coaching staff because they planned everything and it worked for us today.
“But it is not settled yet, we will work hard to prepare for the next match,” he said. – The Vibes, January 7, 2023
