A super strike from midfielder Safiq Rahim gave Malaysia a heartwarming 1-0 win over the South Korean Olympic team in a friendly match at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.

The Selangor playmaker brought cheer to the 3,000 odd fans when he beat towering goalkeeper Lee Bum-soo from 25 metres out with a lethal shot in the 51st minute.

The Korean defence was caught by surprise when Safiq picked up a rebound from his own free kick before he breezed past two defenders and unleashed a low shot beyond the reach of Bum-soo.

It was an encouraging performance by K. Rajagopal’s boys, who are preparing for the Guangzhou Asian Games in November.

The Koreans are on a bigger mission to get into the 2012 London Olympics and they came here with mostly newcomers in their newly-formed Under-21 squad.

Malaysia put up a spirited display and Rajagopal hoped that the team would continue to show the same kind of commitment and consistency in international matches.

After SEA games gold medal performances, our U23 squad show that we are not too far behind. Hopefully this squad can maintain their good form in Asia Games. Although it is just against Korea newly formed squad that mostly U21, it is still a good result for us.

Let us hope that this squad won’t disappoint us in the next 3-4 years!