KUALA LUMPUR: Fans are left bewildered as world No. 132 Malaysia narrowly avoided defeat against minnows Cambodia in their Asean Cup Group A opener in Phnom Penh on Sunday.
Although Malaysia are fielding a mixed squad, with many newcomers, Pau Marti Vicente's side should have collected three points from the match.
Harimau Malaya were on the brink of a humiliating defeat to the Angkor Warriors before youngster Fergus Tierney equalised in the 74th minute.
The result puts Harimau Malaya's semi-final hopes in jeopardy.
The team will likely beat Timor Leste, who lost 10-0 to defending champions Thailand in Bangkok on Sunday, at home on Wednesday, but matches against Thailand (home, Dec 14) and Singapore (home, Dec 20) could be challenging.
Singapore have not been impressive in international football of late, but the Lions will always bring out something special when playing against Harimau Malaya.
Luckily, Harimau Malaya are hosting Singapore at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
Spanish coach Pau Marti Vicente, set to step down after the Asean Cup, was blunt about his team's performance against world No. 180 Cambodia.
"It was as challenging as we anticipated, especially in front of a packed Olympic Stadium, which gave Cambodia an edge.
"Overall, the game was poor. I can't fault the players' effort, but they were disappointed," said Vicente.
Malaysia led 1-0 at halftime thanks to Stuart Wilkin's 35th-minute header.
However, Cambodia hit back in the second half with goals from Abdel Kader Coulibaly (52nd minute) and Sa Ty (60th).
The match appeared to be slipping away before substitute Tierney unleashed a stunning long-range strike to rescue a point for Malaysia.
Vicente touched on defensive lapses, particularly from debutant Jimmy Raymond, whose costly error led to Cambodia's second goal.
"It was a tough debut for Jimmy with just two training sessions before being thrust into the lineup. Mistakes happen, and it's all part of the learning process. I'm confident he'll grow from this experience," he added.
Cambodia fielded their best players, including five naturalised players — South African defender Kan Mo, Japanese midfielder Yudai Ogawa, American-born Nick Taylor, Japanese defender Takaki Ose, and Ivorian forward Abdel Kader Coulibaly.
"The players are upset and angry because they wanted to win. The short preparation period made it difficult to implement our plans. We have two days to regroup before the next match," Vicente added.
It was Malaysia's first stalemate with Cambodia since a 1-1 result at the King's Cup in 1970, during the Khmer Republic era.