Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: Bahrain, Hong Kong and the Maldives all claimed wins on Thursday as a raft of friendlies were played across Asia.
In Riffa, Bahrain converted three penalties to beat Singapore 3-1 at the Bahrain National Stadium.
Mohamed Alromaihi opened the scoring from 12 yards in the 11th minute, only to see Safuwan draw Singapore level before half-time.
However, further successful penalties from Abdulla Abdo and Isameel Abdul Latiff ensured victory for the hosts.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong defeated Cambodia 4-2 at the Mong Kok Stadium in Hong Kong.
Goals from Jaimes McKee, Itaparica and forward Manoel dos Santos – with Chreng Polroth’s reply for Cambodia – handed Hong Kong a healthy 3-1 lead at the break.
Chan Vathanaka gave the Southeast Asians a glimmer of hope by reducing the deficit in the second half, before a Lo Kwan-yee strike five minutes from time sealed the win for Hong Kong.
Elsewhere, Asadulla Abdulla’s hat-trick helped the Maldives beat Bangladesh 5-0 in Male and hand Darren Stewart’s side a major boost ahead of next week’s AFC Asian Cup qualifier against Laos.
Asadulla opened his account with a neat finish on 53 minutes and duly doubled his tally seven minutes later courtesy of another expert finish.
Hamza Mohamed then extended the host nation’s lead, before Asadulla grabbed his third of the night and Ismail Easa scored late on to complete a comfortable win for the Maldives.