Malaysia Trounced By Syria's Under-23 Squad

SHAH ALAM (Selangor, Malaysia), Nov 13 (Bernama) -- The Harimau Malaya (Malaysian national football squad) lost 0-3 to Syria's Under-23 squad in an international friendly at the Shah Alam Stadium here Wednesday night. This the third defeat in international friendlies for the team coached by Dollah Salleh. They lost 1-4 to Tajikistan at the Central Stadium in Dushanbe on Aug 8 and 0-2 to Indonesia on Sept 14 at Stadium Gelora Delta Sidoarjo, Surabaya. The only friendly they managed to win was against Cambodia at this same venue on Sept 20 where they won 4-1. In Wednesday's match, play started slowly on a rain sogged pitch but Nadim Sabag' volley from outside the box in the fourth minute sailed into the net for Syria's first goal. Malaysia tried to up the ante after that but the score stood till half-time. On resumption, Malaysia tried all they could to find the equaliser but it was the Syrians who were again on target when Sanharib Malki netted their second in the 47th minute. Failure to clear the ball during a goalmouth melee saw Omar Khrbin seal victory for the visitors in the 66th minute. Malaysia's final international friendly before the AFF Suzuki Cup 2014 will be against Vietnam at the My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi on Nov 16. (photoBERNAMA) --BERNAMA