KUALA LUMPUR: What happened in the second half? World No. 130 Malaysia dished out an Asian Cup-level performance in the first half but faded away like the stars of the morning, losing their light in the glorious sun after the breather.
Harimau Malaya, who opted for a conservative approach with a five-man defence, showed no fear and no respect to No. 86 Bahrain in the opening half.
Malaysia were structured, aggressive and well-organised, limiting Bahrain's movement in the opponents' half.
It was back to the normal order of things with Paulo Josue leading the strikeforce with Arif Aiman Hanapi and Faisal Halim on the flanks, terrorising the Bahrain defence with their speed and skill.
Malaysia should have scored in the opening minutes with winger Arif coming closest to scoring in the 15th minute when he was the first to react to a loose ball.
However, his powerful low drive inside the box was parried away for a corner by the Bahrain goalkeeper.
Malaysia had a few quick transitions from defence but lacked the right blend and decision-making to turn them into goals.
The Malaysian boys trooped off the pitch with their heads held high after the referee blew for half-time.
The Malaysian fans at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium expected more but Harimau Malaya could not produce the same intensity as in the first half.
The decision to play Natxo Insa, replacing Syamer Kutty Abba in the second half, puzzled everyone as the latter was in the thick of action in the middle of the park.
Perhaps coach Kim Pan Gon wanted some cutting edge, believing that Malaysia could steal three points.
But it did not bring the desired effect.
The coach then brought on Akhyar Rashid, Mohammed Sumareh and Romel Morales in different periods of the second half but only the former justified his place as a substitute.
Malaysia's second half performance was similar to the game against Jordan, which they lost 4-0, on Monday.
Bahrain began to stamp their mark, patiently working on ways to break Malaysia's defence.
Malaysia's near-perfect transition play disappeared in the second half, and they no longer had a hold on the match.
Bahrain broke their hearts with a stoppage time goal through Ali Madan which sailed through a sea of legs before hitting the back of the net.
It should go down as a defensive mistake from a corner-kick. A poor header out and no Malaysian defender tried to close down Matar.
After two rounds of matches in the Asian Cup, Malaysia stand as the worst-performing Southeast Asian team in the competition.
Thailand and a young Indonesian team have already won matches, while Vietnam came close to earning points.
With five goals conceded in two matches, Malaysia are no longer in contention for the last 16 of the Asian Cup.
After the match, coach Kim Pan Gon questioned whether he was the right coach for Harimau Malaya.
Clearly disappointed, he said he might have unwittingly raised expectations in the build-up to the Asian Cup.
Pan Go is definitely a good coach but needs more time to build a solid team provided there is no interference.
Next up are world No. 23 South Korea. Bad news for Malaysia is that Son Heung Min-led Taeguk Warriors will definitely not take the match lightly following the 2-2 hiccup against Jordan.
It is the first after many years, Malaysia will be playing a top-30 team in the world, and a poor performance will see Malaysia severely punished.
On a normal day, the Taeguk Warriors are beatable as they have yet to impress in the Asian Cup.
With their European-based players reporting late from club duties, Korea look ill-prepared for the tournament but are growing from each match.
A famous win over Korea will be much welcomed but everyone knows it is a little impossible.
Let's at least hope Malaysia will score their first goal in the tournament against Korea.
That would be fulfilling, but a draw or win may even see the BBC or the Daily Mail highlighting the Malaysian team's extraordinary result.