SEA GAMES 2011: NEVER UNDERESTIMATE MYANMAR

JAKARTA (4 Nov 2011) – If there is anything which is certain after the match day in Group B of the men’s football event last night, it is that teams would do well not to underestimate Myanmar.

The 2007 finalists showed that they can still be competitive with a man short when they beat Laos 3-2 in the second game of the group at the Stadion Utama Gelora Bung Karno.

Myanmar lost defender Lwin Nya Ma in the 15^th minute to a red card offence for a foul on Laos captain Lamnao Singto.

“I believe that Laos made a mistake when they felt that they can win the full points with Myanmar losing a man early in the match,” said Stefan Hasson, the chief coach of Myanmar after the game last night.

“But I have to give full credit to my players as they kept on believing in themselves and they kept attacking even when Laos fought back with two equalisers.

“With ten men for much of the game, we had no choice but to play it smart. We could not possibly play at the same pace throughout, so we changed to a more counter-attack mode and that paid off.”

With several attack-minded players like Myaw Ko Ko, Minh Minh Tu and Kyi Lin on their side, there really was no danger that Myanmar would lose the three points.

And with such a fabulous start, the match tomorrow between Myanmar and Vietnam might yet turn out to be another gem of a game – full of action from end to end.

On the other hand, Laos must be kicking themselves for letting Myanmar slip with the full points when they had the numerical advantage for much of the game.

But as Hans Schaller, the chief coach of Laos, pointed out afterwards, the rain spoiled what would have been a gran start for the 2009 semi-finalists.

“I have to admit that Myanmar have better quality players who can make a difference when they are under pressure,” added Schaller (pix).

“But the rain affected our style of play. We could not stick to our usual passing game. It is a bad start to our campaign but we are still looking to book our place in the semi-finals.”

SEA GAMES 2011 RESULTS and FIXTURES

GROUP B

DATE	MATCH			GROUP	KICK OFF	VENUE
03.11.2011	VIETNAM 3	vs	PHILIPPINES 1	B	1600 hrs	GELORA BUNG KARNO
	LAOS 2	vs	MYANMAR 3		1900 hrs
04.11.2011	REST DAY
05.11.2011	BRUNEI DARUSSALAM	vs	TIMOR LESTE	B	1600 hrs	LEBAK BULUS
	MYANMAR	vs	VIETNAM		1900 hrs
06.11.2011	REST DAY
07.11.2011	TIMOR LESTE	vs	PHILIPPINES	B	1600 hrs	LEBAK BULUS
	LAOS	vs	BRUNEI DARUSSALAM		1900 hrs
08.11.2011	REST DAY
09.11.2011	MYANMAR	vs	BRUNEI DARUSSALAM	B	1600 hrs	LEBAK BULUS
	VIETNAM	vs	TIMOR LESTE		1900 hrs
10.11.2011	REST DAY
11.11.2011	PHILIPPINES	vs	LAOS	B	1600 hrs	LEBAK BULUS
12.11.2011	BRUNEI DARUSSALAM	vs	VIETNAM	B	1600 hrs
13.11.2011	PHILIPPINES	vs	MYANMAR	B	1600 hrs	LEBAK BULUS
	TIMOR LESTE	vs	LAOS		1900 hrs
14.11.2011	REST DAY
15.11.2011	MYANMAR	vs	TIMOR LESTE	B	1600 hrs	LEBAK BULUS
	PHILIPPINES	vs	BRUNEI DARUSSALAM		1900 hrs
16.11.2011	REST DAY
17.11.2011	LAOS	vs	VIETNAM	B	1600 hrs	LEBAK BULUS