KUALA LUMPUR — In what should have been an easy match for Harimau Malaya, they were forced to make a comeback to beat Timor Leste 3-2 in their Group A match at the Asean Cup today.
With this win, Malaysia kept their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals by the skin of their teeth, as they will take on Thailand in Bangkok on Saturday and then play against Singapore at home on December 20.
Malaysia’s goals were scored by Syafiq Ahmad (37th minute) and Paulo Josue (70th and 83rd), while Timor Leste’s came through Olagar Xavier (45th) and skipper Joao Pedro (45th).
It is crucial to note that the victory is not something to be proud of, as Timor Leste, who do not even have a pitch to train on, were thrashed 10-0 by favourites Thailand on Sunday, while Malaysia could only manage a 2-2 draw against Cambodia in Phnom Penh.
Only the top two teams from Groups A and B will advance to the knockout stage.
“Today was very tough for us. The two best things that happened were the result and the lesson we learned: that we need to fight every moment to get what we want,” said Vicente in a post-match press conference.
“When things don’t go our way with luck and injuries, and conceded two goals, the team needs to show up, we got the win because this is a tournament and winning is important. This is what we needed today,” added the Spaniard, who will step down after the tournament.
On what happened in the first half, Vicente added: “If I knew all the answers, it wouldn’t happen. We talked about how tricky this game could be, the attitude we needed, and the intensity to play. Sometimes, things don’t go your way; mentally, you lose focus, and when you don’t have the clarity of thinking because of injuries, it becomes tough.
“But I told the players the first half wasn’t the whole game. We still have another 45 minutes to play, and we have to win; try to recover from this.”
Separately, his Chilean counterpart Simon Elissetche felt completely hard done with the defeat, particularly since Timor Leste has never won a single point in the competition since their debut back in 2004.
“Not very happy with the result and several official decisions but we did our best, as we had prepared. We were able to defend in situations against Malaysia. We controlled the ball and stayed calm and had a very good tactical composition.
“However, in the end, we lost and are not happy with the results. We hope this game will help us to do better in the next game against Singapore and Cambodia.
“Timor Leste has never won in this tournament, and we had hoped to create history,” he lamented.
Earlier today, Singapore chalked up a 2-1 win over Cambodia in their first match of the campaign. — December 11, 2024