SINGAPORE (29 Nov 2014) – A late show from Malaysia saw them dumped defending champions Singapore out of the AFF Suzuki Cup as Thailand became the only team in the competition this year to score a perfect record.
The Malaysians, who had been under scrutiny from the onset, beat Singapore 3-1 to win the other place in the semi-finals this year as Thailand edged Myanmar 2-0 for the perfect nine points from three matches played.
The game between the two traditional rivals was always going to be close and following the aggressions from both sides, it came as no surprise that a flurry of yellow cards were the order of the day.
Singapore’s Shahril Ishak picked up the first of the game in the 19th minute before Malaysia’s Gary Robbat staying true to form collected the second ten minutes later.
With the score tied at the half, it was to be striker Safee Sali who broke the deadlock in the 61st minute when he blasted home to give the several thousand travelling Malaysian fans a reason to jump to their feet.
But just when Malaysia thought that they had the game in the bag, a free kick in the 83rd minute allowed Khairul Amri to pounce on a loose ball.
The Malaysians continued to press hard and deep in injury time, Mohd Amri Yahyah earned a penalty that was slotted home by Safiq Rahim. Barely a minute later, Singapore fell further behind when their gamble to push all their players upfront for a penalty was punished when Indra Putra Mahayuddin to score.
With the win, Malaysia picked up four points from three matches played – one more than Singapore, who finished third. The Malaysians will play Vietnam in the semi-finals.
In the meantime, Thailand maintained their perfect record in the competition with an easy 2-0 victory over Myanmar.
Thanaboon Keesarat opened account early in the sixth minute as Prakit Deepromwere added the second six minutes later.
