Malaysia 4 Indonesia 1: Tigers on course for qualification after thumping archrivals

Malaysia U19, AFC U-19 Championship qualification, 06112017

BY        ZULHILMI ZAINAL       Follow on Twitter


Malaysia U19 are on course to qualify for the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship, after thumping archrivals Indonesia U19 4-1 in their Group F qualification match on Monday. An early Hadi Fayyadh Abdul Razak penalty and Akhyar Rashid goal gave Malaysia the lead, but a goal by Indonesia's Hanis Sagara just before halftime failed to spark a comeback. Instead Malaysia extended their lead with two early goals in the second half, a Shivan Pillay Asokan header and another penalty by Hadi, to impress at the Paju National Football Centre, South Korea.

Both teams went into the match on three points, but Malaysia needed only a draw in order to finish the group qualification stage as one of the second-placed sides, as the match is Indonesia's final group match. The Garudas meanwhile have qualified as they are the final tournament hosts. However a win was imperative to the Young Tigers, in order to qualifiy as one of the five best second-placed teams.

Malaysia's performance had not been all too convincing as compared to Indonesia's before Monday. Against Timor Leste they won 3-1 before a second team laboured to record a slim 1-0 win over minnows Brunei, while against these two sides Indonesia won 5-0, respectively.

Surprisingly, it was Malaysia who could have gone in front as early as the sixth minute, when Nik Akif Syahiran Nik Mat released Akhyar on the left, but the latter missed with his shot.

However just a minute later, Akif again proved his mettle, winning a penalty by drawing a foul from Indonesia goalkeeper Gianluca Rossy. Striker Hadi's kick was weak, but it was enough to send the custodian the wrong way.

Despite the early lead, Bojan Hodak's boys failed to keep the momentum going and allowed their regional rivals to push on in search for a equaliser.

In the 20th minute Indonesia could have levelled the score, but Muhammad Iqbal miscued his shot from inside the Malaysia penalty box.

Akhar made amends for his earlier miss, when he doubled Malaysia's lead in the 34th minute. He again combined well with Akif, receving a perfectly-weighted through pass from the right with an equally good first touch at the edge of the Indonesia penalty area, before slotting the ball past the onrushing Gianluca.

The goal was rather surprising, considering that Indonesia was arguably the better side until then. At one point, the possession share was 71-29, in favour of Indra Syafri's boys.

But two minutes before halftime, Indonesia pulled one back after a mistake by Malaysia goalkeeper Azri Abdul Ghani. He failed to gather a long range shot by Iqbal, and the rebound was pounced on by Hanis Sagara. 

At the start of the second half, Indra brought on starlet Egy Maulana, 

But Egy did not get to do much, when Malaysia restored their two-goal lead. Shivan Pillay Asokan rose the highest, almost unchallenged, to bury Akif's corner kick from the left with a powerful header.

In the 52nd minute, Malaysia made it 4-1 with another penalty after Akhyar was fouled by Luthfi Baharsyah. If Hadi's earlier penalty goal was a weak shot, this time the JDT II man smashed it in. This time his decision almost backfired as the shot hit the underside of the crossbar, but it bounced over the goal line and into the back of the net.

Luthfi almost received a second yellow for a foul on Akif minutes later, but thankfully for him the referee kept his card. Indra moments later made the right decision of taking him off for Syahrian Abimanyu.

In the 76th minute Firza Andika tried for the top far corner, but this time Azri made no mistake and tipped the ball over the crossbar.

The match ended in a convincing 4-1 win for the Tigers, but there is still a lot to do for Hodak's boys. On Wednesday they will take on group hosts and group leaders South Korea in their final group match. A win for Malaysia may seem unlikely, but it will ensure automatic qualification as group winners.

Malaysia: Azri (GK), Shivan, Anwar, Nabil (Tasnim 83'), Syaiful, Nurfais (Zhafir 68'), Akif (Saiful 88'), Thivandaran, Ammar, Hadi, Akhyar.

Indonesia: Rossy (GK), Maheswara, Nurhidayat, Andika, Marabessy, Iqbal (Syahrian 56'), Baharsyah, Sulaeman (Egy 45'), Feby (Saddil 60'), Mangkualam, Saghara.

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