Brunei suffer heavy defeat against Vietnam

Caption: Abdul Wadud Ramli in action against Vietnam in Group B of the AFF Under-18 Championship in Myanmar yesterday. Picture: Courtesy of Myanmar Football Federation

Ak Fauzi Pg Salleh
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

THE national under-18 football team were brought back down to earth in their AFF Under-18 Championship campaign in Myanmar after suffering a heavy 8-1 defeat to Vietnam yesterday.

The setback comes after their encouraging 3-2 win over Philippines in group B opener on Tuesday.

Brunei started positively early in the game trying to keep possession of the ball but Vietnam were just too organised as they raked in three goals in the first half before adding further goals after the break at the Thuwunna Stadium.

Xuan Tu broke the deadlock in the 15th minute when he headed home a cross from Truong Tien Anh.

It was 2-0 just two minutes later after Nguyen Hong Son fired home from close range.

Muhammad Nur Asyraffahmi Norsamri pulled a goal back in the 44th minute, but Tran Van Cong restored Vietnam’s two-goal cushion just before the half time whistle.

Abdul Hariz Herman (L) defending Le Van Nam of Vietnam during their Group B AFF Under-18 Championship match in Myanmar yesterday. Picture: Courtesy of Myanmar Football Federation

Vietnam continued to dominate as Brunei were struggling to keep up with the pace.

Xuan Tu found the net for the second time in the 74th minute before Dang Van Toi scored the fifth three minutes later.

Nguyen Khac Khiem had a brilliant game scoring the other two goals while, Mai Sy Hoang also got his name on the scoresheet to complete the rout.

“We are disappointed with the result, but the players tried their best,” said manager Zulkifli Hj Duraman.

“Overall, the Vietnamese players just had more quality,” he added.

Asyraffahmi, as quoted on the AFF website, echoed the manager’s sentiment: “We tried to match Vietnam as much as possible but they just had too much quality with their technical ability and physical endurance.”

Brunei will face hosts Myanmar tomorrow before completing group stage play against Indonesia on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the other Group B yesterday match saw Indonesia thrash the Philippines 9-0.

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