KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia scored a goal in each half to beat Hong Kong 2-0 in an international friendly at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil for their second consecutive win ahead of the 2023 Asian Cup qualifying campaign.
Winger Safawi Rasid put Harimau Malaya ahead from the penalty spot in the first half before substitute Safiq Rahim sealed victory with a freekick in the 90th minute.
With about 19,075 spectators cheering the national team on, the win is Malaysia’s first over Hong Kong since 2012 and serves as a timely boost for Kim Pan-gon’s charges as they prepare for next week’s qualifiers.
Fresh from the 4-0 trouncing of Brunei on Friday, Pan-gon’s men took to the field tonight with their confidence sky high and dominated the first half, with Arif Aiman Hanapi and Akhyar Rashid in excellent form.
The marauding Harimau Malaya carved up two clear chances in the first 10 minutes.
But Safawi’s attempt struck an opponent in the sixth minute before La’vere Lawrence Corbin Ong failed to connect with a cross two minutes later.
Malaysia finally broke the duck in the 31st minute when they were awarded a penalty kick after Akhyar was brought down by Fung Hing Wa in the box.
Safawi stepped up to send Hong Kong goalkeeper Paula Cesar Da Silva Argolo the wrong way.
Towards the end of the first half, Malaysia missed a golden chance to double their lead when forward Darren Lok managed to evade his marker but could not steer his header into goal.
The national team began the second half from where they left off and nearly made it 2-0 in the 49th minute, but Darren was again the culprit when he failed to beat Paulo Cesar.
Four minutes later, Malaysia wasted another great chance to extend their lead when Akhyar managed to dribble past the goalkeeper but skewed his shot wide off the goalmouth.
Halfway through the second half, Pan-gon made a rash of substitutions, including bringing on Safiq, who finally bagged goal number two in the dying seconds and help 154th-ranked Malaysia overcome world No 147 Hong Kong.
Safiq’s fiercely driven freekick deflected off the Hong Kong wall and left Paulo Cesar beaten for the second time.
Tonight’s match was also witnessed by youth and sports minister Faizal Azumu and Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president Hamidin Amin.
The friendly was also the last warm-up match for the national squad before they take on Turkmenistan on June 8, followed by Bahrain (June 11) and Bangladesh (June 14) in Group E of the 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers.
Hong Kong, meanwhile, will face hosts India, Afghanistan and Cambodia in Group D.
For the record, Malaysia drew 1-1 and lost 2-0 in their last two meetings against Hong Kong in the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers in 2017.
Hong Kong were then coached by current Harimau Malaya head coach Pan-gon. - Bernama