Malaysia’s Shivan Pillay set-up a mouth-watering semi-final battle with Indonesia when he netted the only goal in the 1-0 win over Myanmar in a Group B AFF Under-19 Championship match at the Gelora Delta Stadium this evening.
Myanmar, despite losing today, ended second in the group and will face defending champs Thailand in the other semifinal.
Shivan’s strike in the 17th minute sent Malaysia to the top of the standings with 10 points, leaving Myanmar second with seven. What was shocking was over at the Joko Samudro Stadium, in the other group match held simultaneously, Timor Leste went down 2-1 to Cambodia and lost their chance to make the last four.
The semi-finals will be held at the Gelora Delta Stadium on Thursday.
Malaysia took to the field today without several first choice players, including striker Muhammad Akhyar Abdul Rashid and midfielder Thivandaran Karnan. Even without these players, the Malaysians managed to take charge and created several chances for themselves. In what was their first clear attempt, they managed to break through. Shivan Pillay, lurking at the far post, squeezed his shot in off a corner from Nik Akif Syahiran.
Myanmar, just four minutes later, missed a chance to draw level when Naing Ko Ko’s cracker from outside the box was saved by goalkeeper Muhammad Azri Ab Ghani. With five minutes to go, Muhammad Nurfais Johari’s freekick from the left found Muhammad Zahril Azri Zabri but his header was caught.
There was a scary moment a minute from the break when Muhammad Zafuan Azeman and Aung Wunna Soe went down after clashing their heads, fortunately it was not serious. The knock may have affected Zafuan who had a brilliant chance from in the box, but could not keep his shot down.
After the break, Myanmar worked hard but their attempts were all off the mark. Malaysia almost had a chance to double the score but Nik Akif’s solid volley was pushed out by Myanmar keeper Zin Nyi Nyi Aung. In the late stages, Ye Lin Htet let loose a powerful strike but this time, the Malaysian keeper Muhammad Azri punched the shot out.
Cambodia scored once in each half – Nop David (32nd) and Kheang Menghour (79th) – to secure their second victory in this tournament. Timor Leste pulled one back through Celso Rebelo in the 90th minute. Cambodia had earlier whipped Brunei 5-0 and have now finished third with six points, one more than Timor Leste who have five points.
RESULTS
| Date | Match | Group | Teams | |
| July 10
|
24 | B | CAMBODIA 2
Nop David 32nd Kheang Menghour 79th
|
TIMOR LESTE 1
Celso Rebelo 90th
|
| July 10 | 25 | B | MALAYSIA 1
Shivan Pillay Asokan 17th
|
MYANMAR 0
|
SEMIFINAL FIXTURES
July 12: Thailand vs Myanmar, Malaysia vs Indonesia
For the complete results and fixtures, please go to http://www.aseanfootball.org/v3/aff-u19-championship-2018/#1526567058939-ef16c19b-91be
| Final Group Standings | ||||||||
| Group A | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| Thailand | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 15 | 13 |
| Indonesia | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 12 |
| Vietnam | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 8 |
| Laos | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 6 |
| Philippines | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 22 | -17 | 3 |
| Singapore | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 19 | -16 | 1 |
| Group B | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| Malaysia | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| Myanmar | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 7 |
| Cambodia | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 6 |
| Timor Leste | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Brunei DS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 14 | -13 | 0 |
|
*Teams in BOLD Qualify to Semi-Finals |
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