YANGON (13 Oct 2009) – Thailand made good on their promise of a masterful finish to their final group match when they blasted Malaysia 17-0 to win Group A as hosts Myanmar A struggled in the rain for a 8-0 beating of Indonesia in the other match of the day.
It was the biggest score line so far in this tournament. On the opening day of the tournament (Oct 19), Thailand defeated Indonesia 15-0 while Myanmar A trounced Malaysia by an identical score. For Myanmar, finishing second in the group will likely mean a showdown with the tournament favourites on Oct 16. Australia play their final group game tomorrow against Myanmar B and a win will seal the top spot. Myanmar completed the group round with six points while the Thais picked up a maximum nine points. Malaysia, thanks to their narrow win over Indonesia two days ago, were third with Indonesia anchoring the group without any points to show. With both teams on the same number of points going into today’s match, the games were held simultaneously with Myanmar A taking on Indonesia at the Youth Training Centre as Thailand entertained Malaysia across town at the Aung San Stadium. Needing to win by a big margin, Myanmar utilized three strikers upfront in search of the early goal following the heavy downpour just before the first whistle. But Indonesia were not about to be pushed down all that easily as they packed their defence with captain Rani Mulyasari marshalling the backline to push Yuliana Muray as the lone striker. Several clear chances went a begging in front of the crowd of more than 2000 with Indonesia holding out until the 21st minute of play when Nilar Win made good on an earlier miss to slam home from close range following a cross from Ngwe Zin Lay. Htet Thaigi Aye then made it 2-0 up just five minutes later before Farida Saw and Ngwe Zin Lay then added two further goals in the 32nd and 38th minute respectively. The only respite for Indonesia came in the form of the diminutive Silvi Fistri who in spite of her small frame, made several leeways into her opponent’s half only to be denied by the presence of the lanky Myanmar captain Khin Than Wai. The sky opened up again just a minute into the second half as Myanmar again struggled to prise open the cagey Indonesian defence. As the pressure began to mount following news filtering through that Thailand had already blasted in close to a dozen goals against the Malaysians, the Myanmar girls became desperate as they made several substitutions to add more bite to their offensive play. In the end, all that they could muster was four further goals as Thaigi Awe completed her hat trick with two more strikes in the 57th and 84th minute and then substitutes Khin Nway Nway (67th minute) and May Thu Kyaw (85th) adding the remainder. Downtown, Thailand knew what they needed to do and mounted an all out attack right from the start, with strikers Rattiyakorn Pra-Ang and Pornsawan Hotaisong, supported by Malaitip Promwang pressuring the Malaysian defence. The Thais were up 10-0 at the break and despite the downpour when the match resumed in the second half, were not daunted and went on to add a further seven goals. Once the kinks in the Malaysian defence were clear, Thailand began reeling in the goals, with the first coming in the 13th minute from Pornsawan. She went on to bag three more goals in the 20th, 39th and 47th. Rattiyakorn’s hard work paid off when she also helped herself to four goals (16th, 40th, 50th and 56th). Wannipa Kongthip blasted a hat trick (19th, 24th and 88th) while Malaitip was on target twice in the 61st and 86th minutes. The other goals came from Sunisa Campinij (27th), Pranee Tanasa (33rd), Sunthree Jaidee (35th) and Sriwan Onlamul (85th). PIX: Myanmar (in all red kit) against Indonesia (in white/ green kit) FIXTURES Oct 14: Myanmar B vs Australia (3.30pm), Vietnam vs Philippines (6.00pm) Oct 16: Semi-finals Oct 18: Final RESULTS Oct 9 – Group A: Myanmar A bt Malaysia 15-0, Thailand bt Indonesia 15-0 Oct 10 – Group B: Vietnam bt Myanmar B 5-0, Australia bt Philippines 14-0 Oct 11 – Group A: Myanmar A vs Thailand 0-0, Malaysia bt Indonesia 2-1 Oct 12 – Myanmar B bt Philippines 5-1, Australia bt Vietnam 5-0 Oct 13 – Myanmar A bt Indonesia 8-0, Thailand bt Malaysia 17-0 |