AFF Cup: Timor Leste almost shocked, Malaysia ‘sweated’ to successfully come back

On the evening of December 11, the Malaysian team welcomed the Timor Leste team in the second match of Group A – AFF Cup 2024. The Malaysian team just disappointed when drawing 2-2 with Cambodia in the opening match, and was forced to win. victory over Timor Leste to open the door to continue. Meanwhile, Timor Leste just suffered a very heavy 0-10 loss to Thailand.

Although the Malaysian team does not have the strongest force at the 2024 AFF Cup, it is still rated higher than Timor Leste. However, a surprise happened before the match entered halftime, with the advantage favoring the “underdog” team Timor Leste.

During the first 30 minutes of the match, although the Malaysian team had better control of the ball, they were stuck in finding a goal. It wasn’t until the 37th minute that Fergus Tierney had a favorable assist for Syafiq Ahmad to run clear and tap the ball into the goal, opening the score for the Malaysian team.

A scenario that hardly anyone can think of, when Timor Leste comes back in just a few minutes of extra time in the first half. From the counter-attack situation, Joao Pedro had a speedy and courageous dribble on the side. left wing then cleared the deck for Xavier to easily score to equalize the score to 1-1 for Timor Leste in the 40+1 minute.

Malaysian members and fans seemed dumbfounded when they had to concede the second goal. In particular, Joao Pedro (Timor Lester) continues to play the role of “fiend” to Malaysia’s defense. Joao Pedro dribbled quickly on the left wing again, before hitting a skillful curling shot to put Timor Leste up 2-1 against Malaysia.

In the second half, the Malaysian team put all their strength into attacking. However, Malaysia’s quest to find an equalizing goal faced a big challenge, when Timor Leste players played very aggressive defense. In addition, Timor Leste star Joao Pedro also often threatens the Malaysian defense system with fast dribbles on the left wing.

Only in the 70th minute did the Malaysian team equalize 2-2. After Endrick’s pass, Paulo Josue broke the offside trap and finished defeating the opponent’s goalkeeper, bringing the match back to the starting line. Paulo Josue completed his double in the 83rd minute, arriving at the right time in the penalty area to increase the score to 3-2 for Malaysia.