15 JULAI 1979 – Perlawanan Akhir Pestabola Merdeka
Pada 15 Julai 1979, Malaysia sekali lagi bertemu dengan musuh tradisi mereka, Korea Selatan, di perlawanan akhir Pestabola Merdeka.
Sebelum itu, Malaysia telah berdepan dengan pihak lawan sebanyak empat kali untuk merebut Piala Merdeka di pentas akhir. Pada tahun 1960, Malaya dan Korea Selatan dinobatkan juara bersama setelah terikat 0-0. Korea Selatan telah memenangi kejohanan dua kali ke atas Malaysia pada 1972 dan 1975, manakala Malaysia berjaya merangkul trofi pada tahun 1974.
Dalam peringkat kumpulan, Korea Selatan telah menewaskan Malaysia 4–1. Namun, pasukan kebangsaan bangkit semula daripada kekalahan tersebut untuk memenangi dua perlawanan seterusnya menentang Singapura (3-0) dan Malaysia B (3-1).
Malaysia B, pasukan kedua negara, tidak berjaya memperoleh sebarang kejayaan di edisi kejohanan ini. Mereka tewas kepada Singapura (2-1), Korea Selatan (3-1) dan Burma (1-3), dan hanya dapat seri dengan Jepun (0-0), Indonesia (1-1) serta Thailand (2-2).
35,000 penonton memenuhi Stadium Merdeka untuk menyaksikan perlawanan akhir. Perlawanan tersebut berlangsung selama 120 minit tanpa jaringan. Gandingan kapten Soh Chin Ann dan pemain midfield Shukor Salleh yang telah membantu mengukuhkan kubu pertahanan Harimau Malaya.
Ternyata sebelum masa tambahan lagi pasukan Korea Selatan telah menunjukkan tahap stamina yang semakin berkurang untuk menahan serangan Malaysia. Mereka tidak dapat mempamerkan permainan agresif yang membawa pasukan mereka ke final.
Pertarungan masa tambahan juga masih tidak dapat menentukan pemenangnya. Kedua-dua pasukan diisytiharkan sebagai johan bersama Pestabola Merdeka 1979.
Skuad penuh Malaysia: R. Arumugam, Hamid Ramli, Mokhtar Dahari, Soh Chin Ann, Tony Wong, Bakri Ibni, Abdullah Ali, Kamaruddin Mohd Noor, Hassan Yahaya, Spawi Joll, Jamal Nasir, Hussein Muhd, Ramli Abdullah, Abdah Alif, Shukor Salleh, Wan Jamak, Razali Zinin, dan G. Torairaju.
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On July 15, 1979, Malaysia faced formidable foes South Korea once again at the final round of the Merdeka Tournament.
Prior to this, Malaysia had met their opponent a total of four times to fight for the cup. In 1960, Malaya and South Korea were declared joined champions after tied 0–0. South Korea would go on to win over Malaysia twice in 1972 and 1975, while Malaysia managed to take the trophy once in 1974.
In our previous post, we detailed how South Korea took down Malaysia 4-1 in the group stage. The national team managed to come back up from the defeat, winning their next two matches against Singapore (3-0) and Malaysia B (3-1).
Malaysia B, the national feeder team, had a less successful run during the tournament. In their previous matches, they lost to Singapore (2-1), South Korea (3-1) and Burma (1-3). Meanwhile, they drew with Japan (0-0), Indonesia (1-1) and Thailand (2-2).
35,000 spectators crowded Merdeka Stadium to witness the grand finale. The match would last 120 minutes without a single goal scored. It was captain Soh Chin Ann and midfielder Shukor Salleh who partnered up to help strengthen Harimau Malaya’s defence.
Even before extra time was added, the South Koreans’ stamina began to slow down to hold out Malaysia’s attacks and they were no longer keeping to the aggressive pace that brought them to the final.
After the gruelling match that left the winner undecided, both teams were crowned as joined champions of the 1979 Merdeka Tournament.
Malaysia full squad: R. Arumugam, Hamid Ramli, Mokhtar Dahari, Soh Chin Ann, Tony Wong, Bakri Ibni, Abdullah Ali, Kamaruddin Mohd Noor, Hassan Yahaya, Spawi Joll, Jamal Nasir, Hussein Muhd, Ramli Abdullah, Abdah Alif, Shukor Salleh, Wan Jamak, Razali Zinin, and G. Torairaju
