Malaysia claimed their first win of the World Cup Qualifiers after putting on a resilient display to upset Timor Leste on their home soil.
Despite Safiq Rahim’s last minute exclusion, Malaysia held on to dominate the middle of the park, and an early goal from Amri Yahya was more than enough to seal the deal in Dili.
Datuk Ong Kim Swee knew that a victory in this game would boost his chances to securing the national team job on a permanent basis, and his Malaysian side showcased their intent from the get go.
They won a free-kick on the right side of Timor Leste’s penalty box on the 5th minute, but the delivery was eventually cleared away to safety.
That being said, Malaysia eventually broke the deadlock merely five minutes later, as a fine pass from Nazirul Naim allowed Amri to graciously find the back of the net to put the away side ahead.
Timor Leste pushed aggresively in search of an equalizer, but the defensive partnership of Razman Roslan and Aidil Zafuan looked relatively solid and was definitely effective in nullifying their physically superior counterparts.
After the break though, the home side looked a lot more assured on the ball, and they did pose tangible threats early on in the second half.
Ong Kim Swee responded by replacing Ismail Faruqi with the more composed Nasir Basharuddin, which proved pivotal as he worked his socks off in midfield to prevent Timor Leste’s creative players from having too much of space on the ball.
The home side had two glorious chances on the 70th minute, but both were dealt with brilliantly by Malaysia’s defenders. And with time running out, Malaysia almost made it 2-0 late in the game, only for Amri’s shot to go narrowly wide.
At the end of 90 minutes, Malaysia sealed a valuable victory that will undoubtedly increase Ong Kim Swee’s name on the pecking order.
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