MALAYSIA trounced Singapore 4-1 to qualify for the semi-final of the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil today.

The Harimau Malaya players, cheered on by a 65,147-strong crowd, were relentless in their attacks against the visiting team. Goals by Darren Lok (35th minute), Stuart Wilkin (50th minute, 54th minute) and Sergio Aguero (88th minute) helped seal a memorable win.

The win, which sees Malaysia finish as runners-up in Group B behind Vietnam, helped Harimau Malaya make amends for crashing out in the group stage in the previous edition as well as end their winless run against the Lions since November 2014, after losing twice and drawing once in three meetings.

Singapore scored a consolation goal through Faris Ramli in the 85th minute but their game was littered with mistakes, making it easy for Malaysia to breach their defence time and again and, had it not been for poor finishing, the Harimau Malaya could – and should –s have won by a bigger margin. 

The main culprits in the first half were nippy winger Mohamad Faisal Abdul Halim, who wasted a handful of chances, and fullback V. Ruventhiran.

Faisal, after receiving a pass from skipper Muhammad Safawi Rasid, saw his attempt from inside the box thwarted by Singapore’s Hassan Sunny, who then performed admirably to deny a follow-up shot by Ruventhiran.

Faisal, who has scored three goals so far, had another chance to push Malaysia ahead but Hassan easily palmed out his close-range effort in the 17th minute.

However, there was no escape for Singapore, who adopted a defensive approach, in the 35th minute when Muhammad Safawi, after winning the ball with intense pressing, broke away on the right before crossing for Lok to send a glancing header past Hassan and throwing the home crowd into a frenzy.

A quick glance at the match statistics for the first half showed Malaysia having nine attempts (with three on target) compared to just two (with none on target) for Singapore.

Malaysia then came back after the break with a vengeance to double their lead in the 50th minute when Singapore’s substitute striker Shawal Anuar poor’s first touch allowed Wilkin to regain possession and let fly a piledriver from outside the box which Hassan got his hand to but could not keep out.

Four minutes later Wilkin struck again.

Muhammad Safawi, who tormented the Singapore backline with his clever runs on the right, was again the creator when he crossed the ball to Wilkin who turned and unleashed a shot past Hassan to put Malaysia 3-0 up.

With victory as good as in hand, Malaysia dropped a gear and Singapore, under the guidance of coach Takayuki Nishigaya, finally came out of their shell and began to launch a series of attacks, with Faris finally finding the target in the 85th minute when he applied the finishing touch from close range off a cross from the right.

That goal galvanised Malaysia as they stepped up a gear to notch goal number four just three minutes later with a stylish and speedy counter-attack involving three substitutes.

Muhammad Haqimi Azim Rosli broke away on the right to relay the ball to Lee Tuck, who then squared it for Aguero to curl the ball from outside the box into the bottom-left corner.

The result is a repeat of their clash in the 2014 edition at the National Stadium in Singapore, which Malaysia won 3-1 to pip the Lions for a spot in the semi-final as Group B runners-up.

In the semi-final, Malaysia will take on Group A champions Thailand while Vietnam will face Group A runners-up Indonesia.

Vietnam defeated Myanmar 3-0 in their last Group B match at the National My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi tonight to top the group with 10 points, followed by Malaysia (nine points), Singapore (seven points) and Myanmar and Laos (one point each). – Bernama, January 3, 2023.