KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 — Malaysia paid dearly for the hasty moves by the national squad defence when they were hammered 0-4 in the first Tier 1 international friendly match in Amman, Jordan, yesterday (October 6).
Al-Jazeera club striker, Ali Olwan was the menace to Harimau Malaya when he blasted a hat-trick to assist Jordan, ranked 93rd in the world to widen their unbeaten record to five matches after a goalless draw in the first meeting with Malaysia in 1988.
Jordan was in control of the entire game and in the first half, the Malaysians were seen defending well in the first 30 minutes.
However, things turned lax after that which saw the squad under Tan Cheng Hoe conceding their first goal in the 34th minute when Ali Olwan easily pushed in his team’s first goal from a low pass by Ehsan Hadad on the right side of the field.
A miscommunication between captain Mohamad Aidil Zafuan Abd Radzak and goalkeeper Mohd Khairulazhan Mohd Khalid, who failed to read a header from the midfield by a Jordanian player who sent the ball into the feet of Odai Al-Saify who coolly tapped in the ball for the hosts’ second goal in the 42nd minute.
In the second half, Jordan did not have to wait long to punish Malaysia’s weak defence with two quick goals in two minutes to take the score to 4-0.
A back header by Kuala Lumpur City FC defender, Muhammad Irfan Zakaria was struck down by Ali to net his second goal in the 47th minute before he completed a hat-trick in the 49th minute after receiving a beautiful pass from Mousa Suleiman in a counter-attack by the squad under coach Adnan Hamad.
Despite launching several good moves against the hosts, the national team was unable to nab any consolation goals and the score remained until the final whistle.
Malaysia who is ranked 154th in the world will end the friendly match tour in Jordan against Uzbekistan (ranked 84th in the world) at Amman International Stadium on Saturday (Oct 9).
— Bernama
