KUALA LUMPUR: Harimau Malaya always seem to make things hard for themselves, especially against lower-ranked opponents.
Malaysian football was nearly embarrassed as Harimau Malaya had to fight back to salvage a 2-2 draw against Cambodia in today's Asean Cup Group A clash in Phnom Penh.
Stuart Wilkin gave Malaysia a promising start, opening the scoring in the 35th minute.
However, the Angkor Warriors surprised their world No. 132 opponents after the break.
Abdel Kader Coulibaly equalised in the 52nd minute and Ty Sa put Cambodia ahead seven minutes later.
Substitute Fergus Tierney eventually spared Malaysia's blushes with an equaliser in the 70th minute.
Wilkin, 26, said: "It was a tough game, but full credit to Cambodia. They were strong and made things difficult for us.
"They pushed us hard, and while we came to win, we fell short.
"At the end of the day, it's not a bad result, but it's not the one we hoped for either.
"It's a point, which is important, but there's a lot more we need to work on moving forward," said Wilkin, who scored his sixth goal for Malaysia today.
Harimau Malaya will look to rebound when they host Timor Leste in their second Group A match at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Wednesday.