KUALA NERUS - An excellent performance in the second half was the key to Malaysia's 10-0 victory over Papua New Guinea in a Tier 1 international friendly at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium here tonight.
Sensational young winger Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi and naturalised player Paulo Josue stole the show with four and three goals respectively to mesmerise the 9,592 spectators present.
Kim Pan Gon’s men scored nine goals in the second half after taking the lead at the end of the first period through Muhammad Safawi Rasid's penalty following a foul on Muhammad Akhyar Abdul Rashid.
The national team’s goal fest could have begun much earlier in the game, but with a series of golden opportunities missed in the first half, Pan Gon made several changes including bringing on Arif Aiman and Mohamad Faisal Abdul Halim.
The second-half blitz started in the 52nd minute, with Josue showing good ball control when receiving Muhammad Azam Azmi Murad's pass before calmly firing a shot past goalkeeper Ronald Warisan.
Five minutes later, Arif Aiman scored the national team's third goal after successfully beating the offside trap to meet Nooa Laine's beautiful pass, while Mohamad Faisal made it 4-0 two minutes later.
Arif Aiman got his second goal in the 60th minute after finishing off Mohamad Faisal's pass in the penalty box, followed by Josue's second goal four minutes later, adding pressure on the visitors led by Harrison Kamake.
The first hat-trick of the match was recorded by Arif Aiman when he scored Malaysia’s seventh goal in the 68th minute and Josue followed suit with his own just two minutes later.
Malaysia added to Papua New Guinea’s misery when Daniel Ting scored the ninth in the 76th minute while Arif Aiman capped an excellent night with his fourth personal goal just three minutes before full-time.
The success saw the national team record their fourth victory over Papua New Guinea in five meetings, while it was also their fourth consecutive friendly win since March.
It was also Malaysia's biggest win since beating Bhutan 7-0 in a friendly in April 2018.
For the record, only five players - Shahrul Mohd Saad, Stuart Wilkin, Josue, Corbin-Ong and Endrick Dos Santos - were retained by Pan Gon from the squad that defeated Solomon Islands 4-1 in another friendly here last Wednesday, with goalkeeper Sikh Izhan Nazrel Sikh Azman making his national debut. - Bernama