PETALING JAYA — Harimau Malaya held South Korea 3-3 in their final Group E game at the Al-Janoub Stadium on Jan 25 (Thursday) to end their campaign in the Asian Cup with their head held high.
They fought brilliantly to finally win one point after losing to Bahrain and Jordan earlier.
South Korea led by coach, Germany legend Jurgen Klinsmann, took the lead in the 21st minute when winger Jeong Woo-yeong finished off a corner from fellow winger Lee Kang-in.
Malaysia snatched a surprise equaliser in the 51st minute when winger Faisal Halim pulled off a superb finish to beat South Korean goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo.
The side led by Kim Pan-gon took the lead in the 61st minute when Arif Aiman Hanapi scored from the penalty spot.
South Korea fought back and levelled the score to 2-2 when Kang-in buried a freekick past Malaysian goalkeeper Ahmad Syihan Hazmi.
The Asian giants then took the lead in the 91st minute when striker and captain Son Heung-min scored a penalty past goalkeeper Syihan, shattering Malaysia’s hope of getting something out of the game.
However, substitute Romel Morales had other ideas when he scored a last-minute equaliser in the 15th minute of injury time to gift Malaysia its first and only point in the group.
South Korea finished second in Group E with five points, while Malaysia finished bottom with a single point, but a point that would be remembered for a lifetime.
