AFF Suzuki Cup: Malaysia paint Hanoi red

The Malaysian football team lived up to their Harimau Malaya tag when they defied the odds to beat South East Asian powerhouse, Vietnam. Not only were the Vietnamese bowed and beaten, they were absolutely battered as the score read 1 to the homesters,1-4 to the visitors, at the end of the first half.

The game got off to an unexpected start for Malaysia whose legion of home fans prayed for the best despite fearing for the worst. Having lost the first leg at home, in Shah Alam on Sunday; not to mention with some unruly fans blackening the reputation of the nation with unruly behaviour; Malaysia began with plenty of circumspection.

However, that all was banished as early as the third minute when a Vietnamese defender was judged to have committed a foul and a penalty was awarded to Malaysia by the Japanese referee.

Striker Safiq Rahim cooly slotted the ball home but the referee ordered it to be retaken after he judged the Malaysian players had encroached into the penalty area and therefore committed an infringement. Safiq however was the epitome of cool as he calmly slotted the ball at the second time of asking. The score then read an unlikely; Vietnam 0 – 1 Malaysia.

It only got better for Malaysia when Mat Yo (Norsharul Idlan Talaha) scored an unlikely second goal in the 16th minute. The score ; Vietnam 0 – 2 Malaysia.

In the 21st minute Vietnamese hopes were revived a little when it was their turn to be awarded a penalty which reduced the deficit, and brought the aggregate score level.The score; Vietnam 1 – 2.

However, Malaysia regained the upper hand when in the 27th minute; the Vietnamese defence crumbled and let in an own goal when the ball was deflected off a defender’s knee. The score; Vietnam 1 – 3 Malaysia.

There was more joy to come when just before the stroke of half-time; in the 43rd minute; Shukor Adan scored with a header. The score; Vietnam 1 – 4 Malaysia.

Malaysia went into the break full of confidence while the Vietnamese must have been expecting the Japanese version of the notorious Alex Ferguson `hairdryer treatment’ from their foreign coach.

The second half was an even contest between the two sides with the Malaysians showing no intention of `parking the bus’ the way Chelsea’s Mourihno would have done. As a result, there were a few anxious moments in the Malaysian goal but the defence stood resolute throughout.

Constant Vietnamese pressure however brought results for the homesters when Lee Cong Vinh made amends for his own goal by scoring one in the right net in the 78th minute. The score; Vietnam 2 – 4 Malaysia.

In the 90th minute Vietnam nearly scored but the ball which was hit with real power just whizzed past Malaysia’s right goal post.

In the dying minutes in the 3 minutes of added time, the Vietnamese strikers almost slotted the ball home twice, but alas it was Malaysia who emerged victors.

Malaysia will meet Thailand in the finals, with the first game to be played in Bangkok on the 17th Dec. The return leg will take place in Malaysia on the 20th.