Football

'Siuuu' for Faisal, Malaysia blast Laos 5-0

KUALA LUMPUR: Faisal Halim had the crowd of almost 30,000 at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday yelling "siuuu" a la Cristiano Ronaldo.

Faisal, who is a fan of Ronaldo, mimicked the Portuguese superstar in his goal celebration as Malaysia routed Laos 5-0 in an AFF Cup Group B match.

Faisal, 24, has scored at least one goal in the national team's last four matches.

The Argentine-born Sergio Aguero, making his first 11 debut for Malaysia as a naturalised player, scored his first goal for his adopted country in the 29th minute. Malaysia led 1-0.

Coach Kim Pan Gon brought in Brendan Gan as a centreback for substitute midfielder Mukhairi Ajmal Mahadi while Lee Tuck replaced defender Sharul Nazeem Zulpakar in the second half.

Malaysia made it 2-0 in the 65th minute when captain Safawi Rasid crossed to Faisal who netted. Three minutes later, Faisal was on target with another header with an assist by Nor Hakim Hassan.

Faisal has now scored three goals in the AFF Cup, and six in the last four games for Malaysia.

Substitute Haqimi Azim Rosli who came on for Faisal in the 72nd minute, got Malaysia's fourth goal.

Stuart Wilkin, 19, who came in for Aguero, scored in the 87th minute for Malaysia's fifth goal.

Meanwhile, Singapore defeated Myanmar 3-2 at the Jalan Besar Stadium to earn their first win in the competition.

RESULTS

GROUP A

INDONESIA 2 CAMBODIA 1;

PHILIPPINES 5 BRUNEI 1

GROUP B

SINGAPORE 3 MYANMAR 2;

MALAYSIA 5 LAOS 0

Most Popular
Related Article
Says Stories