Tierney’s strike seals 3rd place finish for Harimau Malaya in Fifa Asean Cup

 Malaysia ends 12-year winless streak against Vietnam.

Fergus Tierney celebrating after scoring against Vietnam in their Fifa Asean Cup 2026 third-place playoff at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta today. (Facebook pic)

JAKARTA:

Malaysia secured third place in the Fifa Asean Cup 2026 after edging Vietnam 1-0 in the third-place playoff at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium here today.

Substitute Fergus Tierney was the hero for Harimau Malaya, scoring the only goal in the 62nd minute to give interim head coach Tan Cheng Hoe’s side a winning finish to their campaign.

The win also ended Malaysia’s more than decade-long winless run against Vietnam, with their last victory over the regional rivals coming in the second leg of the 2014 AFF Cup semi-finals.

Tan made three changes to his starting lineup, leaving out defensive mainstay Brad Tapp and winger Arif Aiman Hanapi, while captain Dion Cools was unavailable after leaving the national camp because of urgent family matters.

Vietnam looked more threatening in the opening half, repeatedly probing Malaysia’s defence with attacking moves and high crosses that kept the backline and goalkeeper Ahmad Syihan Hazmi busy.

Malaysia, however, came closest to breaking the deadlock in the 39th minute when Bergson da Silva produced a skillful dribble to beat a Vietnam defender, but his effort was saved by goalkeeper Patrik Le Giang.

Vietnam, under head coach Kim Sang-sik, responded four minutes later through Nguyen Hai Long, whose close-range free-kick was comfortably gathered by Syihan.

In first-half stoppage time, Ngo Dang Khoa tried his luck from outside the penalty area, but his effort drifted narrowly wide of the right post.

Vietnam continued to threaten after the restart, with Williams Minh Hoang firing a low effort narrowly wide of the left post in the 57th minute.

Malaysia responded two minutes later when Bergson beat the offside trap, but his powerful strike went wide of the right post.

Tierney made an immediate impact after replacing Bergson, receiving Manuel Hidalgo’s pass before turning sharply and unleashing a powerful shot past Le Giang to give Malaysia the lead.

Syihan and the defence then worked tirelessly to protect their lead, including denying Le Pham Thanh Long’s effort in the closing stages, to complete the tournament without conceding a single goal.

The victory allowed Malaysia to end the tournament on a positive note after narrowly missing out on a place in the final on goals scored, despite finishing level with hosts Indonesia on points and goal difference in Division 1 Group A. - FMT