KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia began their Asian Cup campaign with a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Jordan in their opening Group E match at the Al Janoub Stadium in Qatar this morning.
Harimau Malaya displayed prowess in the first five minutes of the match when winger Arif Aiman Hanapi attempted to sprint past the Jordanian defence on two occasions, nearly finding compatriot Darren Lok to score the opening goal.
However, the breakthrough happened in the 12th minute when Jordan’s Mahmoud Al-Mardi took advantage of Harimau Malaya’s weak backline on the left, easily bypassing skipper Matthew Davies to score a right-footed curler that beat goalkeeper Syihan Hazmi.
Three minutes later, the Chivalrous were awarded a penalty after Yazan Al-Naimat, who assisted Jordan’s first goal, was brought down by Matthew Davies in the penalty box.
This led to Musa Al-Taamari, who plays for Montpellier FC in Ligue 1, calmly slotting in the penalty to double Jordan’s lead.
Things worsened for Kim Pan-gon’s charges when Al-Taamari rifled a shot a few metres away from the penalty box to give Jordan a three-nil lead in the 27th minute, only for the video assistant referees (VAR) to rule off the goal due to offside.
Houcine Ammouta’s charges finally secured their third goal of the match when they once again took advantage of Harimau Malaya’s weak backline, this time from the right.
Al-Naimat easily sprinted past Corbin-Ong to get his second assist of the match, gifting Al-Mardi his second goal.
Harimau Malaya’s only real chance came in the dying seconds of the first half when midfielder Stuart Wilkin nearly beat Jordanian goalkeeper Yazeed Abulaila with a 23-yard shot after receiving a pass from debutant Romel Morales.
Malaysia continued to apply pressure on Jordan’s defence at the beginning of the second half, but it was challenging for Pan-gon’s men to connect their moves and get past former Selangor FC centreback Yazan Al-Arab, who was in top form with his formidable performance.
Ranked 130th in the Fifa rankings, Harimau Malaya had a couple of chances to get their consolation goals in the 82nd and 83rd minutes through substitutes Paulo Josue and Muhammad Safawi Rashid, only to see their efforts easily thwarted by the opposition keeper.
Al-Taamari sealed the victory for Jordan with a cheeky lob goal past centreback Dion Cools in the 85th minute.
Currently sitting at the bottom of Group E, Malaysia will play their second group match against Bahrain on Saturday and South Korea on January 25.
Earlier today, South Korea defeated Bahrain 3-1 in their opening group match. — January 16, 2024