Malaysia recovered from a goal down to share points with Timor Leste in a Group B AFF Under-19 Championship match at the Joko Samudro Stadium here tonight. The draw means both have to slug it out with Myanmar to determine which two teams advance to the semi-finals.
Myanmar, 7-1 winners against Brunei earlier today, top the standings with a total of seven points. Malaysia also have a similar number of points but Myanmar lead the group on a far better goal difference. Timor Leste are third with five points. Myanmar, Malaysia and Timor Leste play their last group matches on Tuesday.
This evening, Timor Leste took advantage of a defensive error to snatch the lead in the 13th minute. Mouzinho De Lima, latching on to a neat pass from Filomeno Da Costa, squeezed through the Malaysian defence and slipped his attempt past the goalkeeper Shafiq Afifi to send Timor Leste ahead.
Undeterred by the goal, the Malaysians fought back and managed to get in a few shots. But it was in the 31st minute when they got it right, when Muhammad Akhyar Abdul Rashid knocked in a cross from Muhammad Nurfais Johari from the far right.
After the break both sides did all they could to score but it turned out to be an array of misses, mainly from the Malaysians. The Timor Leste players slowed down in the last 20 minutes and the Malaysians took advantage to move up, their attempts however were simply off the mark.
In the earlier match here today, Myanmar were simply too strong for Brunei and cruised to a comfortable win which has put them in a good position for a semis berth. Myanmar stormed to a four-goal lead in the first half with two each from Myat Kaung Khant (13th, 24th) and Pyae Sone Naing (21st, 40th).
Striker Win Naing Tun, who had been constantly harassing the Brunei defence from the start, finally got his name on the scoresheet in the 49th minute. He doubled his tally three minutes later. Hlwan Moe Oo completed the rout nine minutes from time. Brunei scored their first goal of the tournament through Muhammad Rahimin Abdul Ghani with three minutes remaining on the clock.
Myanmar now have seven points from three matches, which includes a win over Cambodia and a draw with Timor Leste. They have one final game against Malaysia on Tuesday which will likely determine the final group positions.
RESULTS
| Date | Match | Group | Teams | |
| July 8
|
19 | B | MYANMAR 7
Myat Kaung Khant 13th, 24th Pyae Sone Naing 21st, 40th Win Naing Tun 49th, 52nd Hlwan Moe Oo 81st
|
BRUNEI 1
Muhammad Rahimin Abdul Ghani 87th |
| July 8 | 20 | B | TIMOR LESTE
Mouzinho De Lima 13th
|
MALAYSIA
Muhammad Akhyar Abdul Rashid 31st
|
FIXTURES (remaining group stage matches)
July 9 – Group A: Laos vs Philippines, Vietnam vs Singapore, Thailand vs Indonesia
July 10 – Group B: Cambodia vs Timor Leste, Malaysia vs Myanmar
For the complete fixtures, go to http://www.aseanfootball.org/v3/aff-u19-championship-2018/#1526567058939-ef16c19b-91be
| Table Standings | ||||||||
| Group A | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| Indonesia | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 12 |
| Thailand | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 10 |
| Vietnam | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 7 |
| Laos | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 8 | -2 | 3 |
| Philippines | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 15 | -12 | 3 |
| Singapore | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 17 | -16 | 0 |
| Group B | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| Myanmar | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 7 |
| Malaysia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| Timor Leste | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Cambodia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| Brunei DS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 14 | -13 | 0 |
| *Teams in BOLD Qualify to the Semi-Finals | ||||||||
