Although playing at home, the home team Cambodia is considered inferior to their opponent Malaysia in terms of strength, form and head-to-head record.
However, the developments on the field were completely opposite to the above predictions. Both teams played tit for tat. In fact, the Cambodian team even had more attacks in the early stages.
However, experience helped Malaysia score the opening goal. In the 35th minute, from an attack on the left wing, Daniel Ting crossed the ball from the bottom of the field for Stuart Wilkin to head into the Cambodian net, putting the visitors up 1-0. Wilkin also became the player who scored the first goal in this year's tournament.
The 1-point gap was maintained by the Malaysian team throughout the first half. In the second half, the yellow team suddenly slowed down. Taking advantage of this, the home team players rose up strongly, pressing and constantly putting pressure on the opponent.
From a mistake by a Malaysian defender, Kim Sokyuth broke through and then set up Coulibaly Kader to easily equalize 1-1 for Cambodia in the 52nd minute. Just 8 minutes later, in a corner kick situation, Sa Ty ran smartly and finished into an empty net, raising the score to 2-1 for the home team.
After taking the lead, the Cambodian team focused on defending. However, the efforts of coach Koji Gyotoku's team were unsuccessful when in the 74th minute, substitute Fergus Tierney shot from outside the box, the ball bounced and went into the net, surprising goalkeeper Vireak Dara. The score was equalized at 2-2.
In the final minutes, the two teams created an attractive tit-for-tat match but neither side scored any more goals. In the end, the Cambodian team drew 2-2 with Malaysia in the opening match of the 2024 AFF Cup.
