Malaysia Thrash Brunei 7-1 To Revive AFF U-23 Semi-final Hopes

By Mohd Iswandi Kasan Anuar

JAKARTA, July 18 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Under-23 (U-23) football squad revived their chances of reaching the semi-finals of the AFF U-23 Championship with a 7-1 goal fest against Brunei Darussalam at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium this evening.

The strategy by head coach Nafuzi Zain, who made five changes from the starting line-up that lost to the Philippines in the opening match recently, saw the national squad deliver a dominant performance throughout the match.

Malaysia opened the scoring as early as the third minute through Muhammad Danish Syamer Tajuddin, before a defensive error by Brunei saw the ball deflected into their own net a minute later, giving Malaysia a 2-0 advantage.

Mohammad Haykal Danish Mohd Haizon found the back of the net in the 32nd minute, followed by a strike from Muhammad Haqimi Azim Rosli eight minutes later to give Malaysia a commanding 4-0 lead at halftime.

Danish Hakimi Sahaludin then netted the fifth goal in the 69th minute following sustained pressure that forced a defensive blunder.

Brunei earned a consolation goal through Muhammad Haziq Naqiuddin Syamra in the 74th minute, but Malaysia swiftly launched a counter-attack and struck again just two minutes later, with Fergus Tierney scoring the sixth goal for the country.

Muhammad Haqimi Azim Rosli added Malaysia’s seventh goal in the 89th minute, sealing a resounding victory for the national side.

The three points not only boosted the spirit of the young squad but also kept their hopes of making it to the semi-finals alive ahead of their final Group A match against Indonesia on July 21 at 8 pm local time (9 pm Malaysian time).

-- BERNAMA