It was the second victory for Harimau Malaya under coach Kim Pan Gon in the Fifa international match window from March 20 to28 after they beat Turkmenistan 1-0 at the same venue last Thursday.

Pan Gon made four changes to the starting line-up when he dropped Shahrul Saad and Quentin Cheng in defence, and Nooa Laine and Nor Azam Abdul Azih in midfield.

In the match watched by some 4,600 fans, the national team started slowly, but in the 18th minute, Hong Kong got a shock when Faisal Abdul Halim managed to pounce on a loose ball and pass it to Akhyar Abdul Rashid to score the opening goal.

The national team’s second goal came in the 41st minute when Ahmad Syihan’s long pass was intercepted by Darren Lok, who slipped the ball  to Mohamad Faisal for him to unleash a strong shot with his left foot.

Hong Kong’s best chance to score came six minutes later after substitute Philip Chan failed to convert from a pass by Law Tsz Chun.

It was Harimau Malaya’s second consecutive win against Hong Kong after they recorded a 2-0 victory in another Tier 1 international friendly match at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil in June last year.