HO CHI MINH CITY (6 August 2019) – Indonesia were in seven heaven in their opening match of Group A of the AFF Under-18 Next Media Cup 2019 when they blasted the Philippines 7-1 here at the Binh Duong 2.
The win for Indonesia was closely followed by victories for Myanmar who beat Laos 3-1 in the later game of the afternoon.
“It was definitely not an easy match where the players needed to control their temperament. I am glad that we picked up the points and finished the game with eleven players as we had started,” said Indonesia head coach Fakhri Hussaini.
In spite of the intermittent rain, Indonesia did not waste time to make their intentions known when Sutan Zico stabbed home a mad scramble in the third minute in front of the Philippines goal for the lead.
And by the time of the second goal off Muhammad Fajar Rachman’s dipping shot in the 15th minute, Indonesia were in full control of the game as they then added three more goals for them to take a 5-0 lead at the break.
Striker Aminuddin Bagus scored twice in the 16th and 24th minute as captain David Maulana was also on target with three minutes left of the first half.
With mostly players from the side that won the AFF U16 Championship last year in Surabaya, Indonesia were in no danger of losing the plot as they controlled the pace well and rarely allowed the Philippines to venture forward.
And while the Philippines did manage to reel a goal in the 66th minute off Alimar Ambong’s fabulous freekick, there was no stopping Indonesia from collecting the full points when they added two more goals through Mochammad Supriadi.
Supriadi’s first goal was an open header off a cross from Muhammad Fajar while the second was a pick up from a through ball.
In the meantime, Myanmar were also on the winning trail when they beat Laos 3-1 at the Binh Duong Stadium.
In an evenly contested affair, Myanmar held the slight edge when they scored twice to take a 2-0 lead at the break, off goals from Saw Kyaw Ae in the 29th minute and then Wai Yan Soe in the 37th minute.
Laos started the second half on a bright note with Tee Sihalath finding the back of the net.
But a red card offense in the 83rd minute for Chony Wenpaseurth would weigh heavily against them as Myanmar then grabbed the chance to score their third goal of the game through Zaw Win Thein right at the end.
“The first match is always difficult. But we managed to pick up the full points and that is important,” said Myanmar head coach Soe Myat Min.
