KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 12 — Malaysia's hope of booking an early semifinal ticket suffered a setback when they were beaten 3-0 by Vietnam in their Group B match of the 2020 AFF Cup championship at Bishan Stadium in Singapore tonight.
Malaysia were punished for failing to adapt quickly to the high-intensity match as Vietnam scored twice in a space of four minutes in the first half before sealing the game with their third goal in the dying minutes of the match.
The result also broke Harimau Malaya's unbeaten record in the group, following Malaysia's wins over Cambodia and Laos in their first two matches.
The defeat in the hands of the defending champions pushed Malaysia to third place in the group behind leaders Indonesia and Vietnam, denting the chances of chief coach Tan Cheng Hoe's squad to qualify for the semi-finals.
It is also Malaysia's sixth defeat in their last seven clashes with Vietnam and the fifth for Cheng Hoe against the Golden Dragon since taking charge of the national team in 2017.
In tonight’s match, Malaysia had a scare in the second minute when skipper Mohamad Aidil Zafuan Abd Radzak failed to clear the ball with his header and presented Nguyen Cong Phuong with a chance but the latter ballooned his shot.
Cong Phuong again tested the Malaysian goalmouth with a short-range shot in the 10th minute but it was well fielded by goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat.
Malaysia were then dealt a blow when Mohamad Aidil had to be stretchered out in the 24th minute after suffering a thigh injury.
Dominic Tan was brought in to partner Shahrul Mohd Saad, and Vietnam fully exploited this situation when Nguyen Quang Hai capitalised on a defensive error to put his team ahead in the 32nd minute.
A minute later, Malaysia were presented with their best chance to equalise after a Vietnam defender back-headed the ball to the feet of an unguarded Luqman Hakim Shamsudin but the 19-year-old striker’s left-footed shot went off target.
Poor combination between Shahrul and Dominic again proved costly as Nguyen Cong Phuong easily went past them before tricking Dominic and letting fly a right-footed shot which beat Khairul Fahmi in the 36th minute. — Bernama
