KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 — Malaysia came from behind to clinch a memorable 3-2 victory against regional rivals Indonesia in the Group G of the second round of 2022 World Cup/2023 Asian Cup qualifiers at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium here tonight.
Malaysia’s first ever naturalised player, Mohamadou Sumareh, who came as a substitute, emerged the Harimau Malaya squad’s hero when he scored two goals, first in the 37th minute before slotting in the winning goal in the dying minutes of added time in the second half.
The victory saw Malaysia finally ending its 15-year winless drought at the famous stadium with a reputation of being the fortress the Garuda squad. Malaysia last beat Indonesia in 2004 with a 2-1 victory during the first leg of the AFF Cup semi-final.
Indonesia’s Brazilian born striker, Alberto Goncalves put the hosts ahead in the 12th minute after slotting in Saddil Ramdani’s pass to beat national goalkeeper Mohd Farizal Marlias.
The 38-year-old Mandura United striker then once again put Indonesia into a 2-1 lead in the 39th minute, just two minutes after Sumareh’s equaliser when he fired a long range shot to beat a hapless Mohd Farizal.
The run-up to the match was already tense, but things heated up in the second half with a pitch invasion by a local fan, who ran across and threw an object towards the section where Malaysian fans were seated.
It happened just after Muhammad Syafiq Ahmad scored the second goal with a glancing header from Muhammad Safawi Rasid’s cross in the 65th minute.
The match had to be stopped for about 10 minutes to allow security teams comprising the army and the police to control the situation.
At the end of the match, the Malaysian fans had to be escorted through a guarded exit lane for safety reasons.
Elsewhere in another Group G match tonight, Thailand were held to 0-0 draw against 2018 AFF Cup champions Vietnam at the Thammasat Stadium in Bangkok. — Bernama
