KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia staged a spectacular fightback from 3-1 down to score an injury-time goal for a dramatic 4-3 victory over Kyrgyzstan in their opening Group D match in the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers here last night.
Dion Cools scored a brace in the seventh and 77th minutes, Khristiian Brauzman scored an own goal in the 72nd minute before Mohamad Faisal Abdul Halim netted the winner in injury time while Kyrgyzstan got their goals through Kairat Zhyrgalbek (42nd minute), Ernist Batyrkanov (44th minute) and Kai Merk (57th minute).
Right winger Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi, meanwhile, deserves special praise for playing a major role with three assists.
Malaysia, whose target is to create history by advancing into the third round of the Qualifiers for the first time, must have thought that history was about to repeat itself when they found themselves trailing 3-1 after 57 minutes at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
But Harimau Malaya roared to live with three goals after that to send the majority of the 17,142 fans jumping for joy at the final whistle.
The Harimau Malaya, coached by South Korean Kim Pan Gon, began aggressively and went ahead after just seven minutes when defender Cools jumped the highest to nod home a corner kick taken by Arif Aiman.
But Kyrgyzstan slowly warmed up to the task at hand and stunned Pan Gon’s men with the equaliser in the 42nd minute when defender Zhyrgalbek, who was completely unmarked, slotted home the rebound after goalkeeper Ahmad Syihan Hazmi Mohamed could only palm a shot away.
Two minutes later, striker Batyrkanov doubled the lead for The White Falcons, who are coached by Stefan Tarkovic.
The striker silenced the home crowd when pounced on a raking pass from goalkeeper Erzhan Tokotaev, which Cools failed to deal with, and let fly a piledriver past Ahmad Syihan.
Tokotaev then superbly denied Malaysia twice in quick succession when he thwarted Mohamad Faisal Abdul Halim early in the second half and Darren Lok from close range in the 51st minute.
When Kyrgyzstan made it 3-1 in the 57th minute after substitute Merk scored after receiving a short pass from Erbol Atabaev, Malaysia looked dead and buried.
Then came the masterstroke. Pan Gon decided to act and brought on Endrick Dos Santos, Paulo Josue and Muhammad Akhyar Abdul Rashid to shake things up and give Harimau Malaya more bite up front.
His gamble paid off big time as the attack was sharper and quicker. The Malaysian high press paid dividends in the 72nd minute when Khristiian Brauzman deflected Arif Aiman’s cross into his own net.
Malaysia 2, Kyrgyzstan 3. It’s game on, now.
And Cools, all cool, calm and composed, made amends for his earlier mistake by rising to nod home his second, and Malaysia’s third, goal off an Arif Aiman corner kick in the 77th minute to make it 3-3.
Malaysia were on the ascend, Kyrgyzstan were on the ropes.
The National Stadium then erupted with joy when Mohamad Faisal, after receiving a pass from Arif Aiman (again), let fly a powerful shot from close range to seal the winning goal in injury time.
This is Malaysia’s first win over Kyrgyzstan in two matches, having lost 1-0 in a friendly in Melaka in 2018.
This win is also a timely boost for Pan Gon’s men as they head to Taipei for their second Group D match against Taiwan on Tuesday (Nov 21). – BERNAMA
