AFF U18: OZ pick up second win; Malaysia bounce back

Australia picked up their second win in Group B of the AFF Under-18 Next Media Cup 2019 when they whipped hosts Vietnam 4-1 as Malaysia bounced back to beat Singapore 3-1 in the matches that was played at the Thong Nhat Stadium last night.

Earlier, Cambodia had delivered a shocker when they beat several-time champions Thailand 4-3 across town at the Thanh Long Stadium.

“It was a difficult tie as Vietnam showed how to control the game and that was something which we could learn from,” said Australia head coach Gary Van Egmond.

“We enjoyed some good counter where we controlled some areas and could have scored a few more goals.”

Both teams were eager to follow up from their opening win – Australia beat Cambodia 5-1 and Vietnam beat Malaysia 1-0 – as knowing that the group was competitive, every point and in fact, every goal could count in the final tally.

But just 39seconds into the match, Marco Tillo silenced the more than 4000 screaming fans when he made a fine finish from close as he then set up Lachlan Brook in the 13^th minute for Australia’s second goal of the game.

Vietnam were playing under pressure and they found it hard going against their physically superior opponents as while Vo Nguyen Hoang did manage to venture forward on a few occasions, they just could not get the ball in.

WIth Vietnam struggling, Tillo then added his second and Australia’s third with another exquisite finish on34 minute, as Nguyen Hoang finally pulled a goal back for the hosts as he nodded home just before the break.

Australia sat back for much of the second half as considering the lead they had already carved out, they allowed Vietnam more of the possession.

But as Vietnam continued to be frustrated, Tillo then finished things off when he completed his hat trick after bursting through the Vietnam defence right at the end,

On the other hand, Malaysia emerged victorious in the battle between two traditional rivals with the early goal from Muhammad Firdaus Kaironnnisam just six minutes into the game making the difference in a 3-1 over Singapore. 

Singapore, buoyed by their draw against Thailand two days earlier, then shore up their defense as they look to shackle their opponents in search of the equaliser.

But while they managed to create some close chances through Iman Hakim Ibrahim and Abdul Rasaq Ishiekwene Akeem, they just could not make it. And when Malaysia doubled their advantage with Muhammad Firdaus once again finding the back of the net,

Singapore finally got the goal they were looking for through Muhammad Zamani Mohd Zamri’s 75th minute effort. But Malaysia’s Luqman Hakim Shamsudin then finished things off with the team’s third goal of the game two minutes to the end.

In the meantime, Cambodia made sure that the group is wide open when they dumped Thailand 4-3 in the match that was played at the Thanh Long Stadium earlier in the afternoon.

After falling to a big defeat against Australia two days earlier, the Cambodians put up a more determined performance to beat their high-rated opponents.

“It was a very tough match but we managed to create some chances to score,” said Cambodian head coach Gyotoku Koji after the game.

With neither teams able to pick up the full points in their opening group game, they were looking to do just that on the day considering the close battle between the six teams in the group.

While Cambodia fell to 5-1 loss to Australia two days earlier, Thailand just could not get the better of Singapore when they were held to a 1-1 draw.

But this evening, both teams fought well and hard as they exchanged blows for blows – Thailand’s Guntapon Keereeleang over the top attempt was replied with a sublime effort from Keo Oudom that rocked their opponent’s crossbar in the 32^nd minute.

The close battle was carried through into the second half before Cambodia finally broke the deadlock in the 53^rd minute when Wut Tola headed in the freekick from Chea Sokmeng.

Thailand then replied with the equalizer in the 68^th minute with Sitthinan Rungrueang providing the cross and Guntapon latching home.

At the end of the 76^th minute, the score stood at 2-2 with Cambodia notching their second goal after an own goal from Thailand’s Chantmongkol Rueangthanarot in the 75^th minute as the Thais then grabbed their second equalizer when Thirapak Prueangna fired in a rocket barely a minute later.

As the Thais seem to be slowing down, Cambodia’s Sieng Chanthea took the opportunity to blast in two quick goals in the 87^th and 88^th minute to put the score at 4-2.

But while Thailand still managed to conjure up their third goal of the game in injury time when Guntapon headed in Chatmongkol’s corner, it came just a tad too late for a revival.

RESULTS – 9 August 2019

GROUP B

Thailand 3 Cambodia 4

Malaysia 3 Singapore 1

Vietnam 1 Australia 4

FIXTURES – 10 August 2019

GROUP A

1530: Myanmar vs Timor Leste – Thong Nhat

1600: Brunei DS vs Indonesia – Binh Duong

1900: Philippines vs Laos – Binh Duong

GROUP A

GROUP B

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