Malaysia puts up embarrasing display in 2-0 defeat to Hong Kong
And to make matters worse, captain Safiq Rahim got himself sent off in the 40th minute for deliberately stamping on Hong Kong’s Daniel Rodriguez.
As captain, the destructive Safiq should have acted more responsibly. Instead, his sending off led to Malaysia’s defeat to Hong Kong, who fielded nine naturalised players in the match.
Safiq argued and protested but Sri Lanka referee Nivon Robesh Gamini was firm and told the Malaysian to leave the pitch immediately.
Four minutes after Safiq was sent for an early shower, Syamer Kutty Abba, on his first cap, received a yellow card for a foul and from the resulting free kick, Spain-born Jorge Paramo headed in Hong Kong’s opening goal.
Safawi Rasid, who was given the task to lead Malaysia’s attack, was like a headless chicken up front and he showed his frustration by kicking a Hong Kong player, that saw him receive a yellow card in stoppage time.
Malaysia were lacklustre in attack as they failed to register a single shot on target in the first half.
National coach Nelo Vingada brought in injured striker Darren Lok for Safawi in the second half in hope that the English-born would add more depth in attack.
However, Hong Kong extended their lead in the 49th minute through England-born Jaimes McKee. He was unchallenged as he rose high and headed the ball past Malaysian goalkeeper Hafizul Hakim Nizam Jothy off a Xu Deshuai cross from the right.
Malaysia made Hong Kong look like ‘Brazil’ as the East Asian team dominated the entire second half. Vingada’s side should count themselves lucky not to be embarrassed further.
The national team had their first look at goal in the match after 78 minutes through substitute Wan Zack Haikal Wan Nor. The winger’s free kick, which he earned himself, sailed inches over the Hong Kong crossbar.
For the record, it was Hong Kong’s first win over Malaysia in 13 years.
Vingada’s side can now forget about qualifying for the 2019 Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates with only one point from three qualifying matches.
The defeat meant that Malaysia have not won an international match since the 3-2 win over Cambodia on Nov 16 last year in the AFF Cup in Yangon.
Vingada definitely needs to re-evaluate his selection of players.
The Portuguese should stop calling up senior players like Safiq and instead give youngsters, especially those from the national Under-23 side, a break for the remaining matches in the qualifiers for exposure.
Concerned parties should also question Vingada’s selection criteria as there are definitely better options in the M-League.
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