The month of December last year is one that will resonate forever in Malaysian football annals. It was when the Tigers lifted the country's first AFF Suzuki Cup crown and few in Malaysia will forget the wild scenes of jubilation after their 4-2 aggregate win over Indonesia in the two-leg final.
On hindsight, the result that quite possibly decided the destiny of K Rajagobal's young team was the disastrous defeat against the same opponents in the opening fixture of last December's ASEAN championship.
A 5-1 capitulation at the Senayan Stadium saw Rajagobal's charges written off by all and sundry.
Many in the team had graduated from the Malaysian under-23 side that had ended a 20-year gold medal drought at the SEA Games in 2009 in Laos but after the drubbing by Indonesia, the performance a year earlier was credited to chance and dismissed.
But it was precisely that shambolic performance which defender Aidil Zafuan, 23, believes equipped the Tigers with a "semangat", or spirit, and a work ethic that triggered the glorious end to the tournament.
And those two critical characteristics will be vital in a game like tonight's - against perennial rivals Singapore in the first leg of the second round of World Cup qualifiers at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
Speaking to Today, Aidil said yesterday: "I think it was good, important even, that we lost that game.
"Things would have been different if we had won, maybe we would have taken things easy after that.
"But after the tournament it was about coming together - that "semangat" - and showing the mental strength that we had. For us it was where we forged our spirit."
In a high-pressure derby fixture, such mental fortitude usually tips the scales for one team or another, a fact not lost on Malaysia's captain Safiq Rahim.
"Of course there is pressure in a game like this. We want to create history again in Malaysian football. We've never been into the third round of qualifiers. We won the ASEAN championship and our next target is to make an impact in Asia," said the 24-year-old.
"Mental strength is vital in a game like this, and my team has that."
Safiq relived the picture in the dressing room after the harrowing defeat to Indonesia, when he recalled: "We couldn't believe we could lose by that big a margin. I remember telling the team after that match: The game is now history, we can either let our heads drop or we can rectify the problems and look to the next game.
"We did and we got our fairytale ending."
The Malaysians go into tonight's match having to deflect questions about a leaky defence that has conceded 14 goals in their last four games. They will also be missing star striker Norshahrul Idlan Talaha, leaving their other hotshot forward, Safee Sali, to possibly operate alone up front.
But Safiq is certain the team will be able to cope.
He said: "We seem to have lost our defensive discipline near the end of games of late but we've had a few days to fix this and we'll do well.
"We're confident. We are not over confident but confident."
The current Malaysia side collected a first SEA Games gold medal in 20 years for the country, and lifted the nation's first ASEAN championship. Now they chase another record at the expense of Singapore - Malaysia's first appearance in the third round of the World Cup qualifiers.
As for Singapore's biggest threat, the injured Norshahrul said quite simply: "Our biggest strength is our 'semangat'."
Probable Tigers' first XI
Khairul Fahmi, Mahali Jasuli, Muslim Ahmad, Fadli Shas, Asraruddin Putra Omar, Baddrol Bakhtiar, Amar Rohidan, Safiq Rahim, S Kunalan, Abdul Hadi Yahya, Safee Sali
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