MALAYSIA were in no mood yesterday to come unstuck against a team known as Sticky Rice.
Entering the field at Bishan Stadium with an appetite for goals, Harimau Malaya duly devoured Laos 4-0 in an AFF Cup match in Singapore yesterday.
For Tan Cheng Hoe's men, it was their second win in Group B, having beaten Cambodia 3-1 in their opening match on Monday.
The easy win over minnows Laos, coached by former Singapore international, V. Selvaraj, was expected, given that Malaysia are ranked 31 places above world No 185th Laos.
Sticky Rice, who lost 2-0 to Vietnam on Monday, were determined not to be easy meat for Harimau Malaya. They fought grittily but to no avail against a skilful Malaysian side.
As Cheng Hoe sidelined naturalised Brazilian Guilherme de Paula and Junior Eldstal from the first 11, Safawi Rasid emerged as Malaysia's chief predator, scoring a hat-trick against Laos.
The Tigers sank in their teeth into Laos as early as the seventh minute through Safawi who tapped a left-footed shot home. And he doubled Malaysia's score in the 34th minute.
Defender Shahrul Saad scored Malaysia's fourth goal in the 78th while Safawi completed his hat-trick two minutes later.
With the 4-0 win, Malaysia maintained their spot at the top of Group B with six points with two more games to go. Cheng Hoe's side will play Vietnam on Sunday and Indonesia on Dec 19.