KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia must now win their final two matches in the World Cup qualifiers to safely reach the third round following a 2-0 defeat to Oman at the National Stadium here today.
Omer Al Malki's spot kick (45th+4) and Mohamed Mubarak Al Ghafri strike (90th+4) saw Oman complete a double over Malaysia in the qualifiers.
National coach Kim Pan Gon made three changes to the starting line-up, which went down 2-0 in Muscat last Friday, by bringing in defender Azam Azmi Murad, midfielder Syamer Kutty Abba and striker Darren Lok in place of Daniel Ting, Shahrul Saad, and Brendan Gan.
Disaster struck when Azam Azmi suffered an injury and was substituted in the 25th minute by Daniel.
World No. 80 Oman was in control of the match, while No.132 Malaysia struggled to craft clear-cut chances. Malaysia finally crumbled in the closing stages of the first half.
A lapse of concentration saw Al Malki skip past Syamer before goalkeeper Ahmad Syihan Azmi brought the Omani striker down for a penalty.
Al Malki stepped up and scored from the spot.
In the second half, Pan Gon brought in Endrick Dos Santos for Darren and Brendan for Syamer, which saw Malaysia taking control of the midfield and creating chances for their forwards.
However, Oman goalkeeper Ibrahim Al Mukhani proved to be a tough nut to crack as he pulled several saves to deny Malaysia.
Pan Gon brought in Paulo Josue for Stuart Wilkin in the 72nd minute and Akhyar Rashid for Faisal Halim in the 81st minute to add pressure on Oman but the visitors delivered the killer blow from a counter-attack.
Al Ghafri scored off a defensive error for Oman's second goal.
With the defeat, Malaysia are third with six points in Group D, while Kyrgyzstan, who defeated Taiwan 5-1 today, and Oman occupy the top two positions with nine points each.
Malaysia will complete their group campaign against Taiwan and Kyrgyzstan in June.
