Wasteful Malaysia held to goalless draw by dogged Macau in friendly
Malaysia huffed and puffed but were unable to break down a stubborn Macau as they were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw in an international friendly on Tuesday night in Ong Kim Swee's hometown of Malacca.
The host nation had the best of the chances and produced some enterprising passing. But they lacked a cutting edge in the final third against a side ranked 195th in the world, 29 spots below them.
Coach Ong changed more than half his lineup from the team who lost 2-0 in an AFC 2018 World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia last Thursday.
Captain Safiq Rahim was left on the bench, alongside fellow midfielders Brendan Gan and Wan Zack Haikal, while Norshahrul Idlan Talaha was given a chance up front, in partnership with the evergreen Amri Yahyah, who wore the skipper's armband.
The home side dominated early possession but struggled to unlock their defensive-minded opponents.
In the eighth minute, Norshahrul broke down the right before threading the ball through to Azrif Nasrulhaq, who blasted wide.
And then on 14 minutes, fullback Matthew Davies made inroads on the right and sent in a dangerous cross. But Nazrin Nawi was unable to get on the end of it.
Coach Ong was forced to make a change on 19 minute when left-back Nazirul Naim was stretchered off with a leg injury, replaced by Yong Kuong Yong.
Norshahrul was the most dangerous player on the field and fired a shot on target from long range in the 26th minute after skipping past two defenders.
But Malaysia's best chance of the half came in the 38th minute when Macau failed to clear a corner after Fadli Shas' header. Amri put in a delightful ball in the follow-up attack, but Nazrin's shot from the left of the six-yard box was touched onto the post by goalkeeper Mo Han Fai and Norshahrul was unable to bundle it home.
Ong gave Malaysia a more attacking look for the second half with winger Wan Zack Haikal taking over from defender Davies, and Hafiz Kamal replacing Nazmi Faiz.
Amri threatened from long range in the 52nd and 58th minutes but failed to find the target.
The forward then provided the cross for Shahrom Kalam in a dangerous position, only to see the Selangor defender head wide in the 68th minute.
The left foot of Hafiz provided three late opportunities. First, his threatening free-kick in the 79th minute was parried away by Ho. Then, another accurate set piece was met by the head of Amri in the 84th minute, drawing a smart close-range save at the near post.
And in the 93rd minute, Hafiz's free-kick was touched onto the bar by the outstanding Ho to deprive Malaysia victory in coach Ong's old neighbourhood.
Malaysia: Izham Tarmizi (GK); Matt Davies (Wan Zack Haikal 46'), Shahrom Kalam (Joseph Kalang Tie 78'), Fadhli Shas (Amirul Hisyam 62'), Nazirul Naim (Yong Kuong Yong 19'); Azrif Nasrulhaq, Baddrol Bakhtiar (Brendan Gan 73), Nazmi Faiz (Hafiz Kamal 46'), Nazrin Nawi; Amri Yahyah (c), Norshahrul Idlan Talaha
Macau: Ho Man Fai (GK); Lei Chi Kin, Lao Pak Lin, Chan Man, Cheang Cheng Leong Paulo (C); Leong Ka Hang, Ho Chi Fong, Egar Teixeira, Pang Chi Hang; Miguel Cordeiro, Leong Tak Wai
.jpg)
