13 Years Later, Malaysia Are Back in a Johor Cup Final — and Their Coach Called It a Drama

Thirteen years. That’s how long Malaysia’s juniors waited to see a Sultan of Johor Cup final.

Berita RTM put the number on it on Thursday morning: the Young Tigers’ 3-2 win over Pakistan on Wednesday night takes the hosts into their first final at this tournament since 2013. Coach Nor Saiful Zaini had a shorter review of the same night.

“I think it was a drama today,” he told reporters afterwards.

A drama is about right

Malaysia led through Naaveennash Panicker. Adeel scored twice and Pakistan led 2-1 deep into the fourth quarter. Then the game flipped on discipline. Rana Waleed’s red card on 51 minutes started it, and by the closing stages, with two more Pakistan players sitting out yellow cards at the same phase, Nor Saiful counted eight Pakistan players on the pitch against his eleven.

Safwan Salihe levelled at 55 minutes. Panicker won it at 57. Malaysia’s third comeback win in three days, after China and Japan were both beaten the same way. The full story is in our Day 4 round-up.

Nor Saiful didn’t hide from the fortune in it. “Towards the end of the game, luck was a little on our side, because they only had eight players on the pitch and we had eleven. Then we got another goal, and it was 3-2.”

He also admitted his side had wasted a pile of first-half chances, and that tired legs from playing the night before forced them to slow it down late. Honest stuff. Coaches who’ve just reached a final don’t usually hand the opposition that much credit.

Canada first, but nobody’s pretending it matters most

Malaysia finish their group games against Canada on Friday (4:35 pm PKT), and the final place is already safe. Nor Saiful says all 18 players will keep rotating and nobody gets rested unless they’re injured — though Adam Asyraf Johari and Nabil Yusof could sit if minor muscle strains need it.

Then he said the quiet part out loud. The Canada game is not the main focus. The final is, and he doesn’t want his players arriving at it tired or hurt from a back-to-back.

As for who joins them on Saturday, he expects the winner of Friday’s early game. “Hopefully in the final, I think maybe we will meet Pakistan or Japan. They play first, and then we will know who we will meet in the final.”

Pakistan need a draw. Japan need a win. Malaysia, for once in this tournament, get to watch somebody else sweat. Friday’s shoot-out is previewed here, and the whole tournament sits in our Johor Cup guide.