KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia whipped Laos 5-0 at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil to register their second consecutive AFF Cup win and move top of Group B.
Sensational striker Faisal Halim continued his lethal form by striking twice in the second half, both via headers, after naturalised player Sergio Aguero had given the hosts a first half lead.
Substitutes Haqimi Azim Rosli and Stuart Wilkin added one each to complete the rout in front of 29,961 fans.
Malaysia had edged Myanmar 1-0 in their opening Group B match in Yangon on Wednesday.
It was quite clear that head coach Kim Pan-gon wanted to rest some of his first choice players for the crucial match against Vietnam on Tuesday.
Pan-gon named only three first choice players in Sharul Nazeem Zulpakar, Faisal and skipper Safawi Rasid for today’s match.
The first half saw Pan-gon’s boys struggling to find their rhythm despite playing on home turf and managed only one attempt on goal after 20 minutes.
It took the home side 29 minutes for Harimau Malaya to break through a rather weak Laos defence when Aguero guided in a low cross from Nor Hakim Hassan.
Pan-gon brought on a number of substitutes in the second half and the introductions of Brendan Gan and Lee Tuck seemed to inject more urgency into the team.
Faisal, who scored the only goal against Myanmar, headed in a pin-point cross from Safawi in the 65th minute and buried another header three minutes later after another superb cross from Nor Hakim from the left.
That goal took his tally in the tournament to three.
A defensive error in the 77th minute by Anantaza Siphongphan saw Haqimi slam in a thunderous volley for Malaysia’s fourth before Wilkin struck from outside the box in the 87th minute to make it 5-0 after a swift move down the left.
Meanwhile, in another Group B match played at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore, home side Singapore edged Myanmar 3-2 to collect all three points.
Ilhan Fandi (45th minute), Shah Shahiran (49th) and Shawal Anuar (74th) were Singapore’s goal scorers while Maung Lwin struck twice for Myanmar. - FMT
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