Vietnam and Myanmar have set up a decisive clash in two days with a place in the semi-finals at stake from Group A of the AFF Under-16 Championship here in Surabaya.
Today, Vietnam made short work of the Philippines with a 6-1 beating at the Joko Samudro Stadium while Myanmar came back to blast Cambodia 4-1 at the Gelora Sidoarjo.
“We needed to win this match for the decisive tie (against Myanmar) but the players should have done more with the chances were presented. Six goals were not good enough,” said Vietnam head coach Vu Hong Viet.
It took a while but Vietnam finally cracked open the Philippines defence through Hoang Van Thong in the 19th minute as Nguyen Quoc Hoang then doubled the advantage eight minutes later.
Vietnam finished the first half on top with a 3-0 lead following the third strike from Dinh Thanh Trung.
The Philippines came in stronger into the second half as they maintained defensive discipline before pulling a goal back in the 50th minute through Sandro Sison Reyes.
It was left to Quoc Hoang to make good on the chances Vietnam had and where he managed to complete his hat trick with goals in the 58th and 80th minute in between a goal from Ngoc Thanh (79th).
In the meantime, there was drama at the Delta Sidoarjo Stadium as Myanmar had to fight from a goal down before they were able to beat Cambodia 4-1.
The score at the end of a drab first half was 0-0 as Myanmar were a shade off colour with the chances for La Min Htwe and Naung Naung Soe and Aung Ko Oo deserving better.
For Cambodia, they were counting on the break to make their runs but even then, they seem to struggle to get inside the Myanmar box as the score remained unchanged.
But just three minutes after the restart, Cambodia punished the poor effort from Ko Oo when they grabbed the lead off a quick counter that was finely finished by Met Samel.
That goal prodded Myanmar into action and sustained pressure saw Cambodian defender Ry Leap Pheng conceding an own goal in the 56th minute as Naing Htwe then had an easy header just three minutes later.
With Cambodia back pedalling, Myanmar went on to complete the rout with Naung Soe finally making good on the cross from Khun Kyaw Zin Hein in the 65th minute and Min Htwe fabulous incisive shot right at the end.
“The players under-estimated Cambodia in the first half and that was why they took it easy,” said Myanmar head coach Nyi Nyi Latt.
“We only won this match after some changes in players and also a change in tactics. This is an important win as it sets the stage for the decisive game against Vietnam.”
