KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s hopes of winning the Pestabola Merdeka were shattered after a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Tajikistan in the final at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium today.
Tajikistan, led by Croatian Petar Segrt, issued an early warning to the Harimau Malaya as midfielder Rahimov Muhammadjon tested Malaysia’s defence with a 20-yard shot, only to be blocked by skipper Dion Cools in the 14th minute.
Forward Muhammad Safawi Rasid, who has been struggling with his form recently, allowed tiredness to affect his gameplay as he could not get past Tajikistan’s defence with his sprints.
The 26-year-old Johor Darul Ta’zim winger was heavily marked by Tajikistan’s Safarov Manuchekhr, who took advantage of the poor field conditions, making several lunging tackles on Safawi between the 14th and 18th minutes.
Brendan Gan came close to breaking the deadlock for Malaysia in the 26th minute with a fierce shot from outside the box, only to have it easily saved by Tajikistan’s goalkeeper, Barotov Daler.
Arif Aiman, playing on the right wing, could not convert his efforts into goals as his attempts in the 32nd and 37th minutes were easily cleared by Daler.
The breakthrough came a couple of minutes before half-time as Tajikistan’s Soirov Rustam slotted home a cool finish with his left foot, beating Harimau Malaya goalkeeper Ahmad Syihan Hazmi in the right corner of the penalty box.
Matthew Davies, who has been the main right-back for Kim Pan-gon in the tournament, nearly equalised for Malaysia with a header in the 45th minute.
Malaysia continued to apply pressure on Tajikistan’s defence, but it was challenging for Pan-gon’s charges to connect their moves until the later stages of the second half.
Tajikistan’s Samiev Shahrom then sealed the victory with a fine finish after capitalising on centre-back Dominic Tan’s error in the 87th minute.
The defeat to Tajikistan in the Merdeka Cup also marked Malaysia’s second consecutive meeting with the world’s 110th-ranked team after losing to them in last year’s King’s Cup final in Thailand.
Malaysia will next begin their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign against Kyrgyzstan on November 16 at the Bukit Jalil Stadium.
Malaysia are grouped with Chinese Taipei, Kyrgyzstan and Oman in Group D for the qualifiers. – October 17, 2023