Thailand did not score even a single goal tonight but that did not stop them from picking up the full points against Malaysia following their close 2-1 win in the second game of Group B of the AFF Under-16 Championship at the Joko Samudro Stadium.
“The own goals resulted from our constant pressure of the Malaysia team. And we will take the win any way we can,” said Thailand head coach Thongchai Rungreangleas.
The tie between Thailand and Malaysia was nothing short of explosive as the match got off to a rocking start as both sets of players went off the block.
The battle was restricted mostly down the flanks with Malaysia head coach Raja Azlan Shah opting for a more attacking line up as Thais relied on the more traditional formation.
But that did not in any way hampered Thailand’s aggressive forte with captain Thanarin Thumsen pulling the string from midfield while Malaysia seem disjointed at times.
Constant pressure and with Malaysian goalkeeper Syahmi Adib Mohd Shukri struggling to form a straight line of miscommunication with his defenders, a breakdown in the 14th minute saw captain Ali Imran Sukari misdirecting his play back to an empty goal.
With the score to Thailand’s advantage at the half, the substitution for Aleef Haedi Za Ba gave the Malaysians more pace and in the 46th minute, he slotted home the equaliser when he made good on the cross from Alif Daniel Abdul Aziz.
A string of substitutions followed for both teams and this lack in communication in the Malaysian backline would haunt them again in the 64th minute when a cross from Apidet Janngam, was put into the Malaysian goal by defender Muhammad Nuh Azlan Mohd Yusof.
“We played better in the first half then in the second. We seem to have trouble with the backline and they seem disjointed at times,” said Malaysian head coach Raja Azlan Shah.
In the meantime, in the match that could have gone either way, a single mistake in the Brunei defence in the second half gave Laos the full points following their 3-2 victory in an earlier match.
“For some of the players, it was their first international, so it was natural that they made some mistakes,” said Laos head coach Kanlaya Sysomvang.
“But we will be better in the next match although there will be some changes to the squad when we take on Singapore.”
The game was just 50seconds old before Brunei got the first goal of the match in emphatic fashion when Mohd Idzzaham Metali knocked in the cross from Mohammad Eddy Shahrol Omar from the right.
But Laos did not lose focus as they kept pressing Brunei for the equaliser and it came in the 12th minute with Soubanh Keopheth floating in the cross that was headed home by Anantaza Siphongphan.
And just nine minutes later, Laos went ahead for the first time in the match with Lekto Aphay scoring from close as Brunei then replied with two minutes remaining of the first half with a header from Muhammad Hakeme Yazid Said.
The match went up a gear into the second half and it took Laos just eight minutes to score their third goal of the game and what turned out to be the winner with captain Chony Wenpaserth weaving past a sleeping Brunei defence to score.
A flurry of yellow cards followed afterwards as Brunei became increasingly desperate to find the equaliser as Loas look to protect their lead.
Chony came close to putting the game beyond reach but he totally muffed his attempt with only Brunei keeper to beat.
“We lacked a little bit of experience as half of the players are 14 or 15-years-old,” said Brunei head coach Stephen Ng.
RESULTS
30 July 2018 – Group B
Brunei DS 2 Laos 3
Thailand 2 Malaysia 1
FIXTURES
31 July 2018 – Group A
1500: Vietnam vs Timor Leste (Joko Samudro Stadium)
1530: Cambodia vs Philippines (Delta Sidoarjo Stadium)
1900: Myanmar vs Indonesia (Delta Sidoarjo Stadium)
