Datuk Ong Kim Swee began his reign as Harimau Malaysia head coach with a narrow 2-0 defeat against Saudi Arabia at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah earlier today.
The former national under-23 boss started six of Johor Darul Ta’azim’s (JDT) players in his first ever starting eleven for the national team, whereas the other five consisted of Khairul Fahmi Che Mat, Azrif Nasrulhaq, Brendan Gan, Wan Zack Haikal and Baddrol Bakhtiar. Bert van Marwijk, who led the Netherlands team to the final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, needed a win as UAE’s win over Palestine brought them level on points with the Green Falcons.
The 2018 World Cup/2019 Asian Cup qualifier kicked off with Saudi Arabia immediately piling the pressure on Malaysia as their back-four applied a high line in the centre of the field.
The home side almost came close to scoring on the 18th minute after a smart layoff from Yahia Alshehri set up Abdulla Aldossary, who saw his shot brilliantly saved by Khairul Fahmi.
Things got worse for Ong Kim Swee when Aidil Zafuan was brought off after suffering an injury to his leg and was replaced by Shahrom Kalam on the 25th minute. The Selangor captain earned his fifth cap for Malaysia as he was preferred instead of Shahrul Saad.
Azrif Nasrulhaq put his body on a line to block an effort from Yasir Alshahrani, which went out for a corner, before Yahia Alshehri’s attempt from outside the box just went inches wide.
The Green Falcons managed to put the ball in the back of the net through Salman Muwashar on the 35th minute, but the Al-Ahli winger was ruled offside by Park Insun of South Korea.
Saudi Arabia, who are ranked 60th in the world, were let down again after the Kelantan goalkeeper made a sensational double-save on the 41st minute of the qualifying match. Khairul Fahmi was then helped out by Brendan Gan, who cleared the ball out for safety.
Kim Dong Jim blew his whistle to indicate a good first half for the men in yellow.
Bert van Marwijk’s men finally broke the deadlock five minutes into the second half after Salman Muwashar’s effort was saved by Khairul Fahmi but unfortunately dropped for Mohammed Al Sahlawi, who pounced on it to score his 13th goal of the campaign.
Khairul Fahmi stopped Yahia Alshehri from doubling his side’s lead on the 60th minute after a good save which could have dropped into play for a repeat of the first goal. The 27 year-old was involved again as he saved Yasir Alshahrani’s effort from distance a few minutes later.
Taiseer Al Jassam scored his side’s second goal of the night on the 74th minute after slotting it through Khairul Fahmi’s legs. The Al-Ahli captain was played brilliantly by Yahia Alshehri.
The match ended 2-0 and Saudi Arabia sit on top of Group A with 19 points, 3 points ahead of UAE, as both teams will face each other in the last group stage match next week.
As it stands, Malaysia will advance to the qualifying third round of the Asian Cup. However, they might have to go through a play-off round if Timor-Leste beats Palestine on Tuesday.
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