The Harimau Malaysia squad will be returning home after ending their Tour of Oceania with a hard-fought 1-1 draw over a 186th-ranked Fiji team at the Charles Park Stadium today.
Head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee made several changes from his side’s win over New Caledonia by replacing main goalkeeper Izham Tarmizi with Khairul Fahmi Che Mat. The ex-Harimau Muda boss also fielded a number of Johor Darul Ta’azim (JDT) players with the likes of S. Chanturu, Junior Eldstal and Amri Yahyah getting the nod ahead of their teammates.
The Southern Tigers forward Amri Yahyah opened the scoring on the 41st minute after comfortably converting the ball to the back of the net after S. Chanturu provided the assist.
However, the home side managed to level the game on the 72nd minute through Wellington Phoenix striker Roy Krishna and the scoreline stayed the same until the end of the game.
“The boys managed to overcome a poor playing condition and a terrible weather to perform well,” Datuk Ong Kim Swee said as quoted by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).
“We have to learn from our mistakes, accept it and move forward in our lives,” he concluded.
The national team will now return to Malaysia after completing their third and final match of the Tour of Oceania, which was set up to prepare the squad for the upcoming AFF Suzuki Cup. Harimau Malaysia lost the first friendly match to Papua New Guinea with a scoreline of 2-0, before bouncing back and defeating New Caledonia 2-1 in the second match of the tour.
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