CHONBURI (27 July 2019) – It was a remarkable start for Timor Leste as they shot to the top of Group A after securing a 7-1 win over the Philippines on the opening day of the AFF Under-15 Championship here today. While Indonesia also won their match today and have as many points, the Timorese took charge of the group thanks to their comfortable margin of victory.
The star of the Timor side was surely their skipper Paulo Freitas who blasted four goals, landing the first after only four minutes. He went on to add his name to the scoresheet again in the 42nd, 55th and 58th minutes.
In the first game of the day, the tournament’s opening match, Indonesia, winner of the last tournament when it was for under-16s, could have fallen behind early in the game but a well-saved penalty turned the tide in their favour. A goal in each half saw them walk away with a two-goal win and the best possible start they could have.
Myanmar and Singapore, meanwhile, ended up sharing points after both sides failed to convert their chances. Myanmar never gave up and tried hard throughout, but were stopped in their tracks on every turn. The Singapore side played well to contain their opponents and even had several chances to get ahead.
With their goalless draw, both teams are tied in third spot behind Timor Leste and Indonesia.
Vietnam vs Indonesia
There were in a hurry to get going and started to push up in search of an early goal. After 18 minutes, they were awarded a penalty but Vo Anh Quan’s low strike to the right was well saved by keeper I Made Putra Kaicen. That save fired them up and they began to inch their way up through the constant Vietnamese onslaught.
And in the 40th minute, off a breakaway, Wahyu Agong Drajat Mulyono raced down the right and crossed to the centre to Valeroen, who coolly slipped the cross past Vietnam keeper. A minute later, 11 could have doubled the score but his long-range shot was saved, to the relief of the Vietnamese.
Six minutes after the break, Vietnam were stumped when Indonesia added a second through Marselino Ferdinand. From that point, Vietnam threw everything they had into the game but their rivals firmly held their ground.
Indonesia coach, Bima Sakti said: “The opening game is always difficult, there were a number of things that need to be improved. It’s a good start but the tournament still has a long way to go, we have another four matches. I’ve told the players not to worry and play their game. We have some injuries but I will rotate the players, it’s tough for them to play games every other day,”
Timor Leste vs Philippines
After just four minutes, the Timor Leste players were celebrating when Paulo Freitas cracked the opponent’s defence to claim the opening goal. It was the start of what would be a massive win for the Timor players. Their coach Kim Shin Hwan was pleased his team’s performance and declared that he was aiming to be the champions here.
Kim commented: “The performance was good today. They played according to instructions, and we hope to win the next game. There are some areas to work on but we will improve, we want to be the champions.”
After the first goal, Timor added a second from Serafin Brito but Domic D. Tom surprised them with a fine effort just before the break. Timor came on strong and with their better level of fitness dominated the second half.
Paulo had three more goals in the 42nd, 55th and 58th minutes while William Quintas Vong (53rd) and Alexandro Kefi (56th) netted one goal each to put the final score at 7-1.
Philippines coach, Roxy Dorlas felt his team did well in the first half but their fitness made the difference after the break.
“In the first half we were able to keep our compactness and our discipline in our defending. We were not sure what to expect from Timor based on the previous data that we have. Our fitness level was not on the same level as Timor. So, I think fitness was one of the factors for this result.”
Myanmar vs Singapore
Singapore coach Philippe Aw said he was happy to start with a point: “It was a tough match against Myanmar, they are very good and fast on the counter attacks, for us our chances came from set-pieces. The boys worked very hard. Overall a 0-0 start in the tournament is good, we are happy we did not start with a defeat. One point is a positive thing for us.
He added that his team had improve on retaining possession. “When we have the ball we need to keep it better, sometimes after winning the ball, after one or two passes and we make the wrong decision and give it away again, so we need to do better so we can create better chances.”
Myanmar coach Torssten Frank Spittler, who just joined the team over a week ago, was pleased and saw great potential in his charges. “In the end we deserved to get the win, we had more chances than Singapore. Singapore was playing to their advantage, with their tall players and playing high balls. Some points are starting to work already, some did not work yet. There is potential in the team, there are good players in the team. We have to get them working now.”
RESULTS AND FIXTURES
Venue: Institute of Physical Education (IPE)
TODAY’S MATCHES
Group A
Indonesia bt Vietnam 2-0
Timor Leste bt Philippines 7-1
Myanmar drew with Singapore 0-0
TOMORROW’S MATCHES
1500hrs: Malaysia vs Brunei
1530hrs: Cambodia vs Australia
1800hrs: Laos vs Thailand
STANDINGS
| GROUP A | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| Timor Leste | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 3 |
| Indonesia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Myanmar | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Singapore | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Vietnam | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Philippines | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
