He hailed his players’ fantastic performance and commitment as they came away with all three points in a do-or-die match against the Thais, ensuring the national squad a direct spot in the next round of the Asian Cup qualifiers.

“It was a tough match for us … the players fought hard as they tried to stop Thailand from scoring until the referee blew the (final) whistle,” he told reporters post-match.

Second half substitute Safawi Rasid was the hero for Harimau Malaya when he scored the only goal from the spot in the 52nd minute.

Despite the win, the 53-year-old coach was left to rue wasted opportunities to kill off the game comfortably against Akira Nishino’s side.

This is Cheng Hoe’s second win over Thailand, extending his unbeaten run against the War Elephants to four matches since taking charge in December 2017.

He believes his players gained valuable experience following their failure to qualify for the World Cup but the former Kedah coach vowed to emerge stronger for their upcoming challenge in the next round of the Asian Cup qualifiers.

In another Group G match, UAE ended Vietnam’s seven-match unbeaten run with a 3-2 win at the Zabeel Stadium.

Malaysia end their Group G qualifying campaign third with 12 points, with UAE top on 18 points and Vietnam second on 17 points.

Thailand finished fourth with nine points while Indonesia remain rooted to the bottom with just a point.