NAM DINH, May 14 — Malaysia lost the opportunity to be the first football team to advance to the semi-finals of the 31st South East Asian (SEA) Games after drawing 2-2 with traditional rivals Singapore in their third Group B match at Thien Truong Stadium here today.
The result breaks the two-match winning streak against Thailand and Laos and makes the final match against Cambodia the decider in their quest to qualify for the knockout stage of the competition.
The match against Singapore was hotly contested from the get-go, and Malaysia wasted no time to pull ahead through Luqman Hakim Shamsudin, who deftly found an open space in the penalty box and score a blistering goal in the fourth minute.
The goal is his third in the biennial Games following his two goals against Laos last Wednesday.
However, it took only three minutes for Singapore to reply as Malaysian keeper Muhammad Azri Ab Ghani failed to save an attempt from outside the box by Singapore midfielder Nur Muhammad Shah Shahiran. — Bernama