YANGON (7 Oct 2012) – A double from Kyi Lin gave Myanmar their second full points in two matches when they saw off Timor Leste 2-1 on the second match day of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2012 qualifying round here at the Youth Training Centre in Thuwunna.
The Myanmarese side who had to struggled to beat Brunei 1-0 in their first match, were a lot more aggressive this time round when Kyi Lin scored twice in each half for the win. In between, lanky striker Alan Pinheiro found the back of the net for the Timorese.
“It was a very difficult game for Myanmar,” said Park Sung Hwa, the chief coach of Myanmar afterwards. “But in spite of the heat, I have to congratulate the players for giving their all.”
With the heat beating down, the onus was on Myanmar to push forward considering that several thousand had thronged to the stadium to support the national side in their quest to win a ticket to the next round.
Still utilising Kaung Si Thu as the lone striker upfront, it was still down to Kyi Lin to pull the action as he ran the Timor defence ragged with his hard running and incisive passes.
At the centre of the park, it was down to the two captains – Jesse Pinto for Timor and Kyaw Zayar Win from Myanmar – as they battle for possession and to dictate the pace to the frontline.
With Si Thu nodding the ball well over in the 15th minute following a cross from Kyi Lin, the Timorese replied with a wicked grounder from Diogo Rangel off a freekick that almost caught Myanmar keeper Thiha Si Thu flat footed.
But Myanmar would finished the first half on top where following a David Htan cross from the right, the unmarked Kyi Lin had all the time in the world to head the ball past an out of position Emerson Cesario.
As the heat began to wind down into the second half, Timor started stronger after the break and just ten minutes in, they nailed the equaliser.
Off a strong run from the right, Rangel squared the ball for Pinheiro to blast the ball into the Myanmar goal for both teams to be on level terms. The game picked up a pace soon after that as both teams look to win the full points.
In the 63rd minute, Pai Soe’s strike for Myanmar was blocked by Psulo Ribeiro while some moments later, Murilo de Almeiad almost scored for Timor.
However, Kyi Lin would have the final say when in the 74th minute he beat the offside trap to blast the ball past Cesario for the second time of the afternoon.
“We gave away two goals and Myanmar won,” said Emerson Alcantara, the chief coach of Timor Leste. “Now it is a question of making sure that we win the points for the next two matches.”
AFF SUZUKI CUP 2012
Qualifying Round
– Brunei, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Timor Leste
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
