The ASEAN Cup is a brand new international tournament featuring 14 nations from south-east Asia and south Asian guests Bangladesh and Pakistan, with eight of the teams competing in two groups of four and the remaining six in two groups of three for a second-tier “Challenge Cup”.
Indonesia were jostling with Malaysia for top spot of Group A, which gave the group winners direct entry into next Monday’s final at the 77,000-capacity Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta.
It was at that venue where some of the most dramatic scenes witnessed in recent memory would unfold – and they have to be seen to be believed.
Malaysia went into the third and final group stage matchday leading Indonesia on goal difference by just one, meaning host nation Indonesia had to beat Malaysia either on goal difference or goals scored.
Melbourne-born striker Mitch Baker, who obtained Indonesian citizenship through his Indonesian-born mother in July to be able to represent the national team, put the home side in the box seat with four first-half goals as they took a 6-1 lead into half-time, enough to progress to the final with Malaysia ahead 2-0 over Singapore at the main break in Bandung.
A flurry of goals from Malaysia after half-time in their 6-0 win over Singapore put the pressure back on Indonesia to further extend their lead over Bangladesh, and they went into the 90th minute of the match 6-1 up and on their way out of the tournament.
A 90th-minute goal from Macarthur FC forward Luke Vickery was quickly cancelled out both by Malaysia’s sixth and final goal as well as a 91st-minute reply from Bangladesh to make the score 7-2.
That left Indonesia with the tough task of needing to score twice in stoppage time to advance to the final, and they did so through Monchengladbach defender Kevin Diks – and then Baker’s fifth goal of the match – to spark wild scenes in the stands.
The Malaysian side had already begun celebrations in Bandung for what they believed was a spot in the tournament final, only for support staff to pull out their phones – using the Flashscore app, we trust – to track the late drama in Jakarta.
Eagle-eyed viewers watching the footage above may notice the second half stoppage time was changed from two minutes to seven minutes on screen, which of course made a very material difference on the final result.
That sparked the Malaysia FA to make an official complaint to FIFA to seek clarification on the reasoning behind the change in time.
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