AUSSIES NET A DOZEN, VIETNAM CLAIM SECOND SEMIS SPOT

Vietnam meanwhile secured the second spot in the group and place in the semifinals after disposing the Philippines 11-0 in the second match at the Youth Training Centre this evening.

As the winners of the group with a maximum nine points, Australia, the pre-tournament favourites, will face hosts Myanmar A in the crossover semifinals while Vietnam will take on Thailand on Friday. The final will be played on Sunday.

The Aussies, already through to the semifinals, fielded many of their reserves and still proved to be too strong for the young Myanmar B side.

With star strikers Caitlin Friend and Caitlin Foord warming the bench, Brittany Whitfield and Teigen Allen took over the role of spearheading the strikeforce.

Myanmar B fought courageously and managed to keep their attackers at bay for the first 15 minutes, but once the Aussies broke through, the goals just kept rolling in.

At the break, Australia led 4-0 thanks to two goals headed in by defender Ashlee Faul (16th, 31st) and Allen (18th) and Whitfield (38th) producing the other two strikes.

Aussie coach Robert Hooker brought in Foord for Stephanie Catley at the re-start, and three minutes later, she was on the scoresheet. Whitfield would go on to score a hattrick with goals in the 49th minute and the third in the 89th.

Heidi Makrillos was stunning with four straight goals within a space of 13 minutes. She was on mark in the 52, 54th, 64th and 66th minutes while Hannah Brewer scored goal number 11 from the spot in the 80th minute.

In the other group match tonight, Vietnam wasted no time and blasted six goals in the first half. The game was only four minutes old when Ho Thi Quynh struck and by the end of the half, Vietnam were six goals up.

Vietnam netted another five goals in the second half to score their first double digit victory here.

Thi Quynh and Nguyen Thi Hue blasted a hattrick each while Phan Thi Trang scored two goals. Nguyen Quong Ly, Nguyen Thi Tuyet and Pham Hai Yen scored a goal apiece.

Vietnam had earlier beaten Myanmar B 5-0 but lost to Australia by a similar score. The Philippines completed their fixtures without a win and finished at the bottom of the group.

FIXTURES

Oct 16: Semi-finals – Thailand vs Vietnam (3.30pm), Australia vs Myanmar A (6.00pm)

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

Oct 14 – Australia bt Myanmar B 12-0, Vietnam bt Philippines 11-0