(Football) Malaysia whipped 3-0 by Indonesia in friendly

KUALA LUMPUR: It was a case of woeful defending and individual mistakes that made Indonesia look good as Malaysia were hammered 3-0 by their Southeast Asian rivals in an international friendly at Manahan Stadium in Solo today. Indonesia did not show any hiccups in their first international match after more than a year, from a suspension by Fifa, as they tore apart Malaysia’s makeshift defence with three goals in the opening 22 minutes. Centre-back Fadhli Shas, who hardly plays for Darul Ta’zim in the Super League, made an individual mistake as Indonesian striker Boaz Solossa stole the ball from the Malaysian and raced into the penalty box to unleash a powerful shot past goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat for the opening goal in the seventh minute. Four minutes later, Brendan Gan’s poor back pass was intercepted by Boaz, who then sent a through ball to Irfan Bachdim for the second goal. After the mistake, Brendan suffered an injury and was replaced by S. Veenod for his first cap in the 15th minute. Poor defending again in the Malaysian penalty box saw Boaz adding a third with a powerful left foot shot from close range in the 22nd minute. Indonesia coach Alfred Riedl probably took pity on Malaysia as he replaced Boaz with Lerby Eliandry in the second half. National coach Ong Kim Swee had raised his concerns over his defence following the retirements and injuries of key players. He used a 4-1-2-3 formation with goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi starting for the third time this season. Centre-backs Ronny Harun and Fadhli and wing-backs Matthew Davies (right-back) and Azrif Nasrulhaq Badrul Hisham (left-back) formed the back four. In midfield, Brendan earned his seventh start with Baddrol Bakhtiar and Irfan Fazail in the forward positions. As expected, captain Amri Yahyah played in attack, supported by Wan Zack Haikal Wan Nor and Safawi Rasid in the right and left flanks, respectively. It was Ronny’s first match for the national team since November last year while Irfan, touted as the ideal replacement for former captain Safiq Rahim, and Safawi earned their first caps. As for Wan Zack Haikal, he made his first start since March. Credit to Malaysia as they tried hard to reduce the deficit in the opening 45 minutes but none of their eight attempts were on target. In the second half, Indonesian substitute Lerby almost netted a fourth goal when he weaved past Fadhli, only for his shot from an acute angle to hit the left post of the Malaysian goal in the 48th minute. Kim Swee introduced defender Shahrul Saad and forwards Ahmad Hazwan Bakri and Zaquan Adha for the error-prone Fadhli, Irfan and Safawi to boost Malaysia’s attacking line in the 59th minute. It was Shahrul's third appearance for the team. Winger Fakhrul Aiman Sidid earned his first cap when he came on for Amri in the 78th minute while Ahmad Fakri Saarani replaced Wan Zack Haikal five minutes from time. The result does not augur well for Malaysia ahead of the AFF Cup in November and Kim Swee can expect critics to be harsh on him when he returns with his team to Kuala Lumpur today.