MANDALAY: Myanmar and Australia confirmed safe passage to the AFC U-19 Women’s Champions Thailand 2019 Finals, after they earned wins over Nepal and Uzbekistan respectively on Tuesday.

MYANMAR 2-1 NEPAL

Group hosts Myanmar were a goal and a player down at halftime, but they completed a second-half turnaround to seal qualification with a 2-1 win over Nepal. Goals from San Thaw Thaw and May Phu Ko ensured the group hosts claimed not only the one point they needed to reach the Finals, but all three, after they had fallen behind in a sequence that resulted in their captain Zune Yu Ya Oo being sent off.

Buoyed by their fighting display against Australia on Sunday, Myanmar began full of confidence, only for both Thaw Thaw and Pont Pont Pyae Maung to squander a series of early chances.

Myanmar’s position of relative comfort changed dramatically in the closing stages of the first half, with Ya Oo shown a straight red card after bringing down the goal-bound Manisha Raut, who converted the resulting penalty kick to give Myanmar a 39th-minute lead.

With their fate in the balance at the interval, Myanmar immediately pegged back the deficit through Thaw Thaw, who headed home at the back post in the 47th minute, and could have taken the lead through a Pyae Maung penalty eight minutes later, only for the forward to hit the woodwork from both the spot kick and the follow up.

Despite that dramatic moment, the hosts did eventually seal their win, with substitute Phu Ko finding acres of space before slotting a neat finish beyond Anjana Rana Magar to seal a 2-1 win for Myanmar, who will feature in the finals for the first time since 2013.

AUSTRALIA 4-1 UZBEKISTAN

Earlier, Australia took their Round 2 record to a perfect three wins from three, with a 4-1 win against Uzbekistan on Tuesday.

The Young Matildas were too strong for the Central Asian opponents, scoring three second-half goals to put the seal on their progression, and leave Uzbekistan waiting on the result in the Myanmar match; one which ultimately didn’t go in their favour.

Australia burst into life in the early stages of the match, but they were initially unable to make it count as Mary Fowler missed two chances before having a goal ruled out for offside, and Kyra Cooney-Cross hit the crossbar in the 31st minute. Persistent forays forward finally paid off when Cooney-Cross beat Zarina Saidova with a low, angled effort to give Gary van Egmond’s side a deserved lead in the 41st-minute.

The terrific Cooney-Cross delivered a pin-point corner for Princess Ibini to nod home in the 49th minute, before Fowler finally got her goal - her seventh in three matches in Myanmar - with a close range effort three minutes later. Uzbekistan’s chances of reaching the finals were becoming slimmer by the minute, but they did manage to capitalise when Australia’s defence switched off in the 78th minute, with Shahnoza Kurbonova beating Annalee Grove to make it 3-1.

But any chance of a late Uzbekistan revival was snuffed out by Chelsea Blissett, who headed home another superb Cooney-Cross set piece delivery to stamp Australia’s ticket to Thailand with three minutes remaining.—AFC