DOHA: Before kickoff, Harimau Malaya vowed that they won't go home from the Asian Cup empty-handed.
And that was what they did, and more too. They made Malaysians proud and they made the world sit up and take note of Malaysian football.
Ranked a lowly world No. 130, Malaysia proved to be the equal of world No. 23 South Korea today with an astounding 3-3 thriller at the Al Janoub Stadium in Qatar.
In the end, Tottenham Hotspur superstar Son Heung Min and his exalted Korean teammates were left in disbelief when the naturalised Colombian Romel Morales fired home a heart-stopping equaliser for Malaysia in the 15th minute of injury time.
After losing 4-0 and 1-0 to Jordan and Bahrain last week, Malaysia were going out of the competition with no points and no goals.
All they wanted in this match was a point and to regain some pride.
And Kim Pan Gon's team got that one point and three rousing goals, from against not just any team, but a giant coached by former World Cup winner Jurgen Klinsmann.
Pan Gon started the match, which kicked off at 2.30pm local time) by giving Brendan Gan and Daniel Ting their first 11 debuts at the Asian Cup. Perhaps, that was what Malaysia had been missing earlier.
At the other end, Klinsmann paraded his best men, including superstar Heung Min.
The Taeguk Warriors swept to a 1-0 lead, which wasn't a surprise, in the 22nd minute through Jeong Woo Yeong who shot near the right post for the only goal in the first half.
During the halftime break, coach Pan Gon must have said something as Harimau Malaya came out from the dressing room, hitttng a higher gear.
Malaysia launched a string of attacks which saw Darren Lok overturn South Korea's ball possession in the 52nd minute and leading to Faisal Halim scoring the equaliser.
And nobody was expecting what happened next. Malaysia actually taking the lead after being a goal down against mighty South Korea. Winger Arif Aiman Hanapi drew a foul in the penalty box and converted the spot kick himself.
Malaysia 2 South Korea 1. How often we see this? That sounds like a tale out of the Arabian Nights.
But Malaysia were unlucky to concede an own goal in the 83rd minute. Paulo Josue, who replaced Darren Lok in the 73rd minute, gave away a foul and leading to a Korean direct free kick. This resulted in Lee Kang In taking a shot and the ball rebounded off custodian Syihan Hazmi's gloves into goal.
In the fourth minute of stoppage time, Tottenham Hotspur superstar Heung Min scored a penalty goal to give Korea a 3-2 lead and that appeared to be a face-saving win.
But this roller-coaster match climaxed with the most dramatic of ending. And of all the Malaysian players, Morales, who was vilified by fans earlier for his tame performance against Jordan, popped in the dramatic leveller in the 15th minute of injury time. There can be no better redemption for Morales.
