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Botswana defeat Bafana in Cosafa Cup 

How Malaysia shocked Indonesia to win 2010 AFF Cup

The 7th edition saw Malaysia crashing out of the competition in the group stage for only the second time since it all began back 1996. Under B. Sathianathan, it was a tournament to forget for Harimau Malaya - finishing third in the group behind Thailand and Vietnam.&nbsp;
Malaysia had a good mix of experienced and young players but never quite found their feet in Phuket. Opening with an easy win over Laos, two consecutive defeats to Vietnam (3-2) and Thailand (3-0) saw the end of their journey. Only four players in Asraruddin Putra, Safee Sali, Khyril Muhymeen and Amirulhadi Zainal would get a chance to make things right two years later.

Disappointing 2008 tournament

With the group matches played in Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, it was always going to be an uphilll battle for Malaysia, particularly when K. Rajagopal took with him a relatively young squad with only three players over the age of 25. Norshahrul Idlan Talaha had put Malaysia ahead after just 18 minutes but a Asraruddin own goal level proceedings just four minutes later.
Indonesia heaped the pressure and the young Malaysian side simply wilted. Cristian Gonzales, Muhammad Ridwan, Arif Suyono and Irfan Bachdim put Malaysia to the sword. The result forced Rajagopal into a rethink on his defensive and midfield selections, as well as that of the jersey colour with the black-yellow only used one more time in the competition.

Indonesia 5-1 Malaysia: Disastrous start in the derby

For the second match, Rajagopal shuffled things around and with the result, saw the XI that he could relied upon. Khairul Fahmi Che Mat was brought in to replace Sharbinee Allawee in goal, Mahali Jasuli came in for Razman Roslan at right back while Amar Rohidan took over from Amri Yahyah in midfield.
Those changes gave Malaysia a much better organised defensive shape and that would proved vital as they held Thailand at bay to keep alive hopes of reaching the knockout stage of the competitin. Thailand under Bryan Robson found little joy in the match that followed their opening 2-2 draw against Laos.

Thailand 0-0 Malaysia: Core of the team found

The blue kit made it's second straight appearance in the tournament as Malaysia gained plenty of confidence following a hammering handed down on a hapless Laos side. Amri grabbed a brace while Amirul, Norshahrul and Mahali also got on the scoresheet.
But in order to reach the next stage, Malaysia still needed a favour from the host country, Indonesia. It was a favour that was given as Indonesia beat Thailand in the other game which meant that Malaysia finish second in the group behind the perfect Indonesians but crucially, two points ahead of Thailand.

Malaysia 5-1 Laos: Target achieved, semi-final here we come

Given how the group stage transpired, Vietnam went into this semi-final clash as the clear favourites but instead they found a Malaysian side buoyed by a packed Bukit Jalil National Stadium. Despite playing at home, Rajagopal stuck to the 'lucky' blue kit and in the end, his decision was justified.
Safee Sali had started every single match in the tournament up to this point but have yet to find the back of the net and couldn't have chosen a better game to break his duck but had Vietnam keeper to thank on both occasions.

On the hour mark,&nbsp;Bui Tan Truong allowed a Safee header to slip through his grasp and 20 minutes later failed to clear a Safiq Rahim shot, which Safee gleefully tap home to give Malaysia a precious first leg lead.

Malaysia 2-0 Vietnam: Clinical Safee gives vital firstleg advantage

With a two-goal lead from the first leg, Rajagopal knew that his side could adopt a more pragmatic approach in this game. Still, nerves were there particularly because he needed to alter his first XI because of the suspension of Mahali, with Sabre Abu getting the nod.
Vietnam pushed and pushed and could not find the breakthrough they wanted. Malaysia had fleeting chances on the counter but the damage was done in the first leg. When&nbsp;Pham Thanh Luong got sent off in the 72nd minute, it made things even easier for the away side in Hanoi and Malaysia reached their first final in 14 years.

Vietnam 0-0 Malaysia: Final passage secured

The Bukit Jalil National Stadium was packed to the brim for the much-awaited first leg of the final against the old enemy and it was a boisterous affair on 26 December 2010. Up to this point, the Alfred Riedl's Indonesia have won all five of their matches played in the competition but they would come unstuck in Kuala Lumpur.
It was a heated contest and the match even saw a temporary stoppage in the 53rd minute when Japanese referee Toma Masaaki halted proceedings after the Indonesians were complaining of laser pointers affecting their vision.

Upon the resumption, it was Malaysia who struck the opening blow when Norshahrul cleverly won a ball never the touch line and laid it on a platter for Safee to convert. Malaysia scored twice more through Ashari Samsudin and Safee, all three goals coming in the space 12 minutes to take a commanding lead to Jakarta.

Malaysia 3-0 Indonesia: Safee delights home support

Coming back to the stadium where they were trounced 5-1 in the opening match of the tournament, it has been quite the turnaround for the Malaysian side. With a 3-goal advantage from the first leg and no away goals to worry about, the odds were firmly stacked against Indonesia at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.
That said, the host could have made Malaysia very nervy right at the start but Khairul Fahmi produced an outstanding stop to deny Firman Utina from the spot in the 19th minute. Malaysia held on firmly until half time and then Safee exploded with great goal in the 54th minute that silenced the home crowd.

Now, Indonesia needed five goals to win the tie and with the clock ticking down, it was mission impossible. Two late goals from Mohammad Nasuha and Ridwan did little to alter the tie and when the final whistle was blown, Malaysia had become the champions of the AFF Championship for the very first time!

Indonesia 2-1 Malaysia: Revenge, redemption and pride

How Malaysia shocked Indonesia to win 2010 AFF Cup | Goal.com English Oman

Relive the entire run from the group stage to the final as a young Malaysian team finally brought the coveted trophy home and became the best in SEA.

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