AFF SUZUKI CUP: Malaysia stage fabulous fight back to make Final

The Malaysians who were off colour by some measure in the first leg in Shah Alam last week, pulled out all the stops as they overcome a 2-1 deficit where they will face Thailand in the ultimate two-legged showdown next week.

The Malaysians advanced on 5-4 aggregate.“I was quite surprised with the way the boys played tonight,” said a clearly delighted Malaysian coach Dollah Salleh afterwards. “We had four chances to score and they took all of it.

“We made some mistakes in Shah Alam and tonight Vietnam also made some mistakes. We had the crosses coming in and it resulted in the three goals.

“The lads proved that they can play good football and I hope that we can bring it to the final against Thailand.”It was clear that the return of Mohd Shukor Adan and also Mohd Amri Yahyah provided the Malaysians a different dimension to the game as Shukor provided the stability at the heart of defence while Amri was creating all sorts of problems to the Vietnam backline.

And just four minutes into the game, Malaysia earned a penalty after Que Ngoc Hai was faulted for a hand ball.Safiq Rahim converted from the spot as he sent Vietnam keeper Tran Nguyen Manh the wrong way.

Vietnam regrouped and in the 14^th minute, they came close off a Nguyen Van Quyet’s cross that was cleared by S. Kunanlan ahead of the waiting Le Cong Vinh at the far post.

In their enthusiasm for the equaliser, Vietnam fell further behind when a defensive lapse between Le Phuoc Tu and Dinh Tuen Thanh, it allowed Malaysian striker Norshahrul Idlan Talaha to head the ball past Nguyen Manh.

As Vietnam finally found the equaliser in the 22^nd minute off  a Cong Vinh penalty, their hope of a revival suffered further setback when the Malaysians scored two further goals just before the break.

In the 29^th minute, a cross from Indra Putra Mahayuddin was put into the Vietnam goal off a failed clearance from Tuen Thanh while in the 43^rd minute, a freekick was headed home by Mohd Shukor.

With Malaysia playing defensive in the second half, it added further on the home team. Cong Vinh was pushing every which he can but he just can’t find a way through Mohd Shukor up until the 79^th minute when a defensive mistake allowed the Binh Duong front man to slot the ball home.

Vietnam tried hard to find their third goal of the game but it was just not coming as the Malaysians brought in two more defensive players to give further credibility to the backline.

“It was one of our worse game, sure,” added Vietnam coach Toshiya Miura. “The performance was as disappointing as the result.

“But we cannot single out any player. We win as a team and we lose as a team” 

THE TEAMS

VIETNAM: Tran Nguyen Manh (GK), Le Phuoc Tu, Dinh Tien Thanh, Nguyen Van Bien, Ngo Hoang Thin (Le Tan Tai, 36th, Nguyen Hau Anh 50^th), Le Cong Vinh, Nguyen Van Quyet, Que Ngoc Hai, Pham Thanh Luong, Vo Huy Toan (Mac Hong Quan 46^th), Nguyen Huy Hung.

Head coach: Toshiya Miura

MALAYSIA: Mohd Farizal Marlias, Safiq Rahim, Norshahrul Idlan Talaha (Mohd Afif Kamaruddin 85^th), Mohd Shukor Adan, Indra Putra Mahayuddin (Mohd Muslim Ahmad 90^th), Mohd Badhri Radzi (Baddrol Bakhtiar 78^th), S. Kunanlan, Mohd Amri Yahya, Azammuddin Akil, Mohd Zubir MOhd Azmi, Mohd Fadhli Shas.

Head coach: Dollah Salleh

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Toma Masaaki (Jpn)

Assistant referee 1: Otsuka Haruhiro (Jpn)

Assistant referee 2: Ochi Shinji (Jpn)

Fourth Official: Kimura Hiroyuki (Jpn)

Match Commissioner: Toh See Nee (AFF)

Referee Assesor: Russamee Jindamai (Thai)

General Coordinator: Demis A. Djamaoeddin (Idn)