KUALA LUMPUR (22 Feb 2012) – The Malaysian Olympic squad was given a second lesson in football by powerhouse Japan when the home team crashed to a 4-0 loss in front of their home fans in a Group C match of the 2012 Olympic Games qualifying round at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil tonight.
The two teams met for the first time last September in which Japan carved a 2-0 victory over the Malaysians at the Tosu Stadium.
With the Malaysians already out of contention for a place in the next round after four successive defeats, the Japanese came to Kuala Lumpur hoping to pile on the goals after their loss to Syria in their last qualifying game.
And while the Malaysian defence stood well for much of the first half, there was no stopping Japan from nailing the lead when striker Hiroki Sakai made good on a pass from Genki Haraguchi in the 35th minute for the first goal of the game. Yuya Osaka then added the second goal on 44 minute for the first half to end 2-0 to the advantage of Japan.
Haraguchi then added the third goal for the visitors in the 55th minute before Manabu Saito piled on the fourth goal five minutes later.
Malaysia’s final match of the qualifiers is against Syria on 14 March 2012.
