PETALING JAYA: Malaysia were unable to match a fired-up Vietnam in a match billed as the "Game of Dignity",
Harimau Malaya fell 1-3 to hosts Vietnam to their final Group F game to conclude their AFC Asian Cup qualifiers campaign at the Nam Dinh Stadium on Tuesday (March 31).
Despite the defeat, head coach Peter Cklamovski stood firmly behind his players, praising their resilience during a challenging qualifying period that saw the team penalised with points deduction for fielding ineligible players.
"I’m super proud of the players because the situation we had faced over the past six months or longer was unheard of in football," said Cklamovski.
"The mentality, focus and determination the players have shown, I am truly inspired by them. It’s a special group of people.
"To come here and play the way we did in a tough match - credit to Vietnam, they are a very good team. Their naturalised Brazilian players (strikers Rafaelson Bezerra and Hendrio Araujo) were excellent,” he said.
"We worked hard and created moments where we could hurt them. Goals change games, and we had enough chances to turn it in our favour.
"If we had taken those chances in front of the goal, it could have been a different game. But that’s football. I cannot express how proud I am of the national team players."
Bezerra, or known by his Vietnamese name Nguyen Xuan Son, scored a double in the 51st and 59th minutes, while Do Duy Munh drew first blood for the home in the seventh minute.
Malaysia’s consolation goal was scored by Endrick dos Santos in the 76th minute.
With the defeat, Harimau Malaya ended the campaign with nine points from six matches.
Two weeks ago, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) overturned Malaysia's 2-0 win over Nepal and a 4-0 victory over Vietnam last year as 0-3 defeats after finding them guilty of fielding ineligible players.
