After a shock 2-0 loss to Philippines in their ASEAN U-23 Championship opener, Malaysia desperately needed to bounce back on Friday.
And they duly delivered at Gelora Bung Karno, capitalising on the perfect opportunity that lay in front of them in the form of underdogs Brunei Darussalam to claim an emphatic 7-1 victory and get their Group A campaign back on track.
A Malaysia win was never realistically in doubt given they were coming up against a Brunei outfit that had suffered a heavy 8-0 defeat to Indonesia three days earlier, with seven of those goals coming before halftime.
That looked even more a certainty from the moment they claimed a two-goal lead inside the opening four minutes, courtesy of a deft header from Danish Syamer and a Nazry Aiman own-goal.
Danish certainly wasted no time to make an impact as one of five changes made by Malaysia coach Nafuzi Zain, who would have undoubtedly been eager to introduce a different dimension to their play following the disappointing defeat to Philippines.
But two players that did keep their place in the starting XI were attackers Haykal Danish and Haqimi Azim Rosli, who were both lively against Philippines but just lacked the final product be it through a lack of composure, opposition intervention or sheer misfortune.
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On Friday, it clicked.
Haykal would grab Malaysia's third in the 32nd minute when he coolly chested down a visionary pass by Haqimi and calmly finished past Khairul Hisyam Norihwan.
Three minutes before halftime, Haqimi got the goal his enterprising display warranted when he broke free after a brilliant one-two with Danish before emphatically finishing into the top corner.
At this stage, the only consolation for Brunei was that they had not conceded nearly as many in 45 minutes as they did against Indonesia.
There was, however, something for them to really smile about after the break.
Danish Hakimi did make it 5-0 for Malaysia in the 69th minute but Haziq Naqiuddin would then pull one back for the Bruneians five minutes later after refusing to be denied following a charge into the box -- pouncing on the loose ball after initially being dispossessed to squeeze a shot into the bottom corner.
Nonetheless, any hopes of a spirited fightback were quashed moments later when Fergus Tierney restored Malaysia's hefty advantage with a clever finish on the rebound from an acute angle, before Haqimi rounded off the scoring with his second of the evening a minute from time as he gratefully accepted a gift from the opposition defence.
More so than the emphatic scoreline, simply getting the win ensures Malaysia will have all to play for in their final group stage game on Monday, only adding further spice to what would already have been an eagerly-anticipated encounter against hosts and traditional rivals Indonesia.
Regardless of the outcome of Friday's later between Indonesia and Philippines, Malaysia still have a chance to qualify for the semifinals.
For now, there are multiple scenarios but they will most likely have to beat Indonesia, rather than just play for a draw, to stand a realistic chance -- especially given a tie with Philippines would see them fall below via an inferior head-to-head record from Tuesday's defeat.
It remains an uphill task yet, at least there is now life back in Malaysia at the ASEAN U-23 Championship.