Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia captain Zaquan Adha is hoping his side can write a new chapter in his country’s footballing history and lift their second AFF Suzuki Cup after he netted twice in a 3-0 victory over Myanmar to secure Harimau Malaya’s progression to the 2018 semi-finals.

Hosts Malaysia went into the game needing a win at Bukit Jalil Stadium to leapfrog Myanmar in Group A and advance to the last for and, spurred on by a passionate home support, Nohshahrul Idlan opened the scoring shortly before the half hour.

Zaquan then gave his side breathing space by slotting home a penalty five minutes before the interval then, with the celebrations in the stadium having well and truly started, the skipper rounded off the scoring with two minutes to play.

“We won the important points tonight but after this we must keep working harder,” said Zaquan. “Everybody gave their best and I hope we can continue to give more and more.

“Before the penalty, I was only thinking that the ball must go into the net. But for me it’s not important who scores, as long as we win, that’s the most important thing.

“It’s amazing when we play in front of our fans. I want to thank them all and I hope they can come back again and give more support.”

A number of the team that have helped Malaysia qualify for the semi-finals for the first time since 2014 were also part of the side that reached the quarter-finals of the AFC U23 Championship and the last 16 of the Asian Games earlier in the year.

With Tan Cheng Hoe’s side now showing clear signs of improvement, winning three of their four Group A games to finish as runners-up behind Vietnam, thoughts may just start to turn to lifting the title – something Malaysia did for the first and, to date, only time in 2010.

“I hope this is the start of something good for Malaysian football,” added Zaquan.

“However, we must work harder because we cannot just win today and lose the next game, we have to keep winning.

“Of course, in 2010 we were champions but now it’s a new chapter. We must go and win again, work harder and play as a team. Then, I hope maybe in 2018 we can be champions again."