Coach Hassan Sazali Mohamed Waras was a relieved man after his team gained a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Timor Leste in their opening Group B match of Asean Football Federation (AFF) Under-19 Youth Championships, at Vientiane, Laos, yesterday.
The Young Tigers were missing their versatile striker Muhd Danial Asyraf Abdullah due to an injury, and that proved to be costly as they struggled to break down an unknown Timor Leste side.
However, Malaysia’s hero of the night turned out to be Muhammad Firdaus Chew, whose sizzling freekick in the 51st minute turned out to be the winner.
The national team had earlier taken the lead through Muhammad Shahirul Akmal in the 13th minute, only to see Ervino Soares levelling the score seven minutes later.
A pleased Hassan Sazali then thanked all his players whose efforts paid off in the end.
“To be frank, there’s not much information on their (Timor Leste) Under-19 team. I’m glad all that we planned had worked out well. It was not easy but I’m happy to have this first international win here,” he told Stadium Astro.
Malaysia tops the Group B for now, and will continue their campaign against arch rivals Singapore on August 25th, while second placed Myanmar – who edged Singapore 1-0 – will meet Timor Leste on August 27th.
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