CHONBURI (28 July 2019) – Striker Muhammad Harry Danish Mohd Haizon whipped in a hattrick to steer Malaysia to a sensational 8-0 opening win in a Group B AFF Under-15 Championship match at the Institute of Physical Education Stadium today. The margin of victory ensured the Malaysians, fresh from winning a tournament in China recently, the top spot in the group.
Australia and Thailand were also winners in other Group B games staged today but are second and third respectively in the standings. A superb first-half helped the Aussies claim a 3-1 win over Cambodia while Thailand came from behind to edge Laos 2-1 with two goals from striker Kakana Khamyok.
In the first match of the day, the Malaysians overcame the scorching heat and blasted ahead after only seven minutes. Brunei had a tougher time managing the conditions and soon fell further behind, again from a Harry Danish strike. At the break, the Malaysians were five goals up and went on to add three more by the end of the game.
Today was the second matchday and the first for the Group B teams.
Malaysia vs Brunei
Two goals from Harry Danish in the first 12 minutes was probably a sign of how the match would play out today. But the Malaysians would not score any more goals until the first half was almost over, and this was due to the good work of Brunei keeper Md Azali Waliuddin Azrini.
With the game in added time and set for the break, the Brunei team imploded and conceded three quick goals. Zubaidi Mohd Buang scored twice while Wan Muhammad Hakim Wan Mohd Nazri netted the other.
Despite their best efforts, Brunei were unable to contain their rivals in the second half and let in three more goals. Harry Danish completed his hattrick in the 46th minute with Muhammad Nabil Qayyum Zainuddin and Muhammad Aliff Izwan Yuslan completed the rout in the 57th and 72 minutes.
Malaysian coach P. Maniam was pleased with the winning start and said: “We started very well with right goals. Harry hattrick, many positive things in the team, they are all looking forward to the next match against Cambodia. Overall, we are very happy, but Brunei was not so strong that is why we could score many goals but the second game will be different as Cambodia are strong physically and technically good. Against them, we will need to give more than we did against Brunei.”
Brunei coach Mohammad Ikhmarol Izzat Omar accepted the loss and added that his team had much to learn. “We need to admit that we are technically far off and we will learn from this humble lesson. This is the first tournament for the team, the boys will learn a lot from this.”
Cambodia vs Australia
Across the road at the IPE 2 artificial pitch, Australia had a strong first half to thank for their 3-1 victory over Cambodia this afternoon. The Australians got into the groove soon after the start with Massimo D’argenio cracking open their opponents in the 12th minute.
Daniel Helweh found the net twice within a space of six minutes, scoring in the 24th and 30th minutes to provide his team with a comfortable lead going into the locker rooms. After the break though, Cambodia came charging back and managed to get into scoring positions. began launching some serious attacks launched into attack mode. Striker Leng Nora worked his way into the box and had a decent shot which went wide. Their persistence paid off when they were awarded a penalty in the 64th minute but Leng Nora’s shot was saved only to come off an Australian player and turn into goal.
Australia had some close calls but failed to convert them. A superb run from Clayton Taylor led to a fine cross to the centre which Aiden Mostofi fired over the bar.
Laos vs Thailand
The visitors surprised with a goal in the 10th minute. Against the run of play, striker Phomma Khotphouthone raced forward to try and connect with a long cross into the box. Thai goalkeeper Thanawat Panthong rushed out to clear the ball but a speedy Phomma managed to nod his team ahead.
Thailand created some chances but nothing really serious. It was not until the second half that he hosts stepped up their game and managed to draw level in the 43rd minute through Kakana. Laos worked hard to put the brakes on the opposing strikers but it was not to be as Kakana claimed the winner in the 65th minute.
Laos coach, Selvarajah Vengadasalam, was proud of his boys who stunned the Thais by taking the lead. “It was a dream start, we had three or four weeks and were looking at more organization on the field today. In that sense I think they played very well, they were organized and won a lot of possession. The next stage is how we move forward. We have a lot of respect for Thailand, we came here and did all we can, I’m proud of my boys.
“Our next match is against Australia, they are definitely a powerhouse. Our job is to come here and give all the big teams a difficult time. We have no pressure, we got nothing to lose, we look at one game at a time.”
A delighted Thai coach Salvador Valero Garcia stressed the importance of winning the opening match. “It is difficult to play the first match of every competition because you don’t know how the opponent will be and don’t know how to adapt. So, it’s very important to win the match, especially when they score the first goal. To be honest we have to fix some things because this can happen and play the first half like we did and concede a goal. We will try and fix things before the next match against Brunei. Overall, I’m happy to win the first match.”
Garcia also praised two-goal hero Kakana. “He is a very talented player. We have been working with him a lot since the last year. He trusts himself much more now, especially after specific training and video sessions, he is improving a lot. I am happy to see him score two goals, two very good goals.”
RESULTS AND FIXTURES
Venue: Institute of Physical Education (IPE)
TODAY’S MATCHES
Group B
Malaysia bt Brunei 8-0
Australia bt Cambodia 3-1
Thailand bt Laos 2-1
TOMORROW’S MATCHES
1500hrs: Indonesia vs Singapore
1530hrs: Myanmar vs Timor Leste
1800hrs: Vietnam vs Philippines
THE STANDINGS
| GROUP A | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| Timor Leste | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 3 |
| Indonesia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Myanmar | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Singapore | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Vietnam | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
| Philippines | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | -6 | 0 |
| GROUP B | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| Malaysia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 3 |
| Australia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Thailand | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Laos | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 0 |
| Cambodia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 0 |
| Brunei | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | -8 | 0 |
