As expected, Laos and Thailand made the semi-finals of the AFF BIDC Under-16 Championship today after each overcame their respective opponents with relative ease to complete the fixtures in Group A.
Laos completed the humiliation for 2013 winners Malaysia with a 2-0 beating over at the National Olympic Stadium while Thailand overcame a stubborn Brunei side 2-0 at the Army Stadium.
In a game which Malaysia had only a mathematical chance of making the cut into the next round, they certainly showed little urgency to peg the Laotian front line.
And it did not take Laos too long to turn the game to their favour when Thatsaphone Saysouk turned a defender before shooting past Malaysian keeper Shahrul Iman Ahmad Shukri.
Barely two minutes later, Shahrul Iman’s goal was breached yet again when Bounphachan Bounkong burst into the box to slam in the second goal for Laos.
The win gave Laos their fourth victory from five matches to win Group A as Thailand had to content with finishing runners-up.
Thailand had to struggle for long periods as Brunei stood firm at the back.
But in the end, Thailand still managed to score through Hassawat Nopnate in the 82nd minute and then Jinnawat Russamee two minutes later.
In the final game of the evening between Vietnam and Timor Leste, both teams put up an attacking style of play in a game which had no effect to the final standings.
It was Timor who drew first blood through Yafet Belima Barros in the 34th minute before Vietnam replied with the equaliser off Le Ngoc Thai four minutes after the restart.
And while Timor were hoping for a famous win over Vietnam when Armindo Gusmao scored the lead on 76 minutes, an own goal right at the end denied them any bragging rights.
A cross from Nguyen Khac Khiem from the left was accidentally slotted home by Joel da Silva Maia.
AFF BIDC U16 CHAMPIONSHIP
RESULTS
Thailand 2 Brunei DS 0
Malaysia 0 Laos 2
Vietnam 2 Timor Leste 2
FIXTURES
5 August 2015 – All matches at the National Olympic Stadium
1530 – Australia vs Philippines
1830 – Myanmar vs Cambodia
GROUP A Final Standings
| No | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Laos | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 13 |
| 2 | Thailand | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 2 | +8 | 12 |
| 3 | Malaysia | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 8 | -4 | 6 |
| 4 | Vietnam | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 5 |
| 5 | Timor Leste | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 11 | -2 | 5 |
| 6 | Brunei | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 13 | -10 | 1 |
GROUP B Current Standings
| No | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Australia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 | +14 | 9 |
| 2 | Myanmar | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 6 |
| 3 | Cambodia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 4 |
| 4 | Singapore | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 12 | -5 | 4 |
| 5 | Philippines | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | -7 | 0 |
* Teams in bold make semi-finals
