Courtesy: Myanmar Times


Myanmar disappoints at futsal

By Thomas Kean

MYANMAR bowed out of the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Futsal Championship 2009 without a point last week, going down to Malaysia 2-0 in their final match on June 10.

The clash was effectively a dead rubber, as both sides lost their opening two group matches and had no chance of making the semi finals. Free of the “stress of qualification”, both teams put in an attacking display for the “spartan” crowd at Phu Tho Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, according to the AFF website.

Malaysia opened the scoring in the 15th minute through veteran Addie Azwan Zainal Zainal, who converted a penalty after a mistake from the Myanmar defence.

The Malaysians wrapped up the win three minutes from time through Mohd Fadhil Yusoff.

Myanmar head coach U Thet Naing said his side’s 4-6 loss to Indonesia in their second match on June 9 was the most difficult to accept.

“We should not have lost to Indonesia. That was our undoing. We have failed to make the semi-finals for the third time in three years. But there’s always next year,” U Thet Naing said.

Myanmar started brightly against Indonesia and opened the scoring after just 16 seconds, according to the Jakarta Globe. In the second half the Indonesians overpowered Myanmar, winning 6-4.

That loss, along with their 16-6 drubbing at the hands of Thailand on June 8, condemned Myanmar to an early exit from the tournament.








Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com