KUALA LUMPUR: It was the litmus test that the fans wanted to see, and while Malaysia did not come away with flying colours, there was enough in the 2-2 draw against Syria to suggest that the team are on the right track in preparing for the Asian Cup in Qatar in January next year.
Harimau Malaya went behind in the first half following defensive mistakes, first allowing Mardek Mrdkian the chance to open the scoring in the 12th minute and then non-existent marking provided the space for Yasin Alsamya to head home a second in the 40th.
But a triple change made at the start of the second half following the injury to Shahrul Saad with coach Kim Pan Gon bringing on Junior Eldstal, Sharul Nazeem and Akhyar Rashid, , proved to be a masterstroke.
Akhyar quickly pulled one back for Malaysia in the 50th before another substitute, Darren Lok, nudged in the equaliser in the 85th after Safawi Rasid's shot was stopped by the Syrian keeper.
"Good result. First half 2-0 down but equalised 2-2 in the second half. It's important for us to gain confidence," said Pan Gon.
"Our performance was very good, able to compete against a team ranked world 94th, just maybe two mistakes.
"But in the second half, Harimau Malaya showed their attitude to fight until the end. Our substitutions worked, they changed the game, so I'm very happy.
"The change of shape, switching from a back four to a back three, thus enabling Dion Cools to venture forward especially down the left hand side, gave Malaysia more attacking avenues.
"It was a move that worked as Syria were pinned back throughout the second half as waves after waves of Malaysian attack kept coming."
A second international friendly against China in Chengdu on Sept 9 will give Pan Gon further signs of whether his men are able to compete against tougher oppositions.
"We want to test some tactics and see where we are against a team in the world ranking 80-something. We will try to attack them (China). We will try to be aggressive and try to win," he added.