8 December
THE Myanmar U-22 national football team suffered a 2-4 loss to the Indonesia U-22 men’s team at the crucial semifinal match of the men’s football competition at the 30th South East Asian Games held at Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila, the Philippines, yesterday.
Myanmar started the match with almost all midfielders, as Myanmar head coach Velizar Popov relied on their attacking style throughout the first half.
Team Myanmar played with one touch style, stayed strong in the midfield and attacked fre-quently, while Indonesia relied on its open attack.
The first half ended with a 0-0 draw, as both teams could not convert their chances into goals.The second half saw better playing by team Indonesia, with continuous attacks over Myanmar. Indonesia scored the ice-breaker by Evan Dimas Darmono at 57 minutes.
The second goal for Indone-sia was at 72 minutes, scored by Egy Maulana Vikri.
But Indonesia’s domination did not last, as team Myanmar scored equalizers within eight minutes.
Myanmar’s substituted striker Aung Kaung Mann, who scored the first goal for Myanmar at 79 minutes, while another substitute striker, Win Naing Tun, scored at 80 minutes, making the score 2-2.
The 2-2 draw ended the nine-ty minutes play, as extra time was played.
In extra time, Osvaldo Ardiles Haay scored the third goal for Indonesia at 102 minutes, and again Evan Dimas Darmono scored the final and fourth goal for Indonesia at 113 minutes, breaking the heart of team Myanmar, as Indonesia secured a spot in the final match.
As for the win, Indonesia will meet Viet Nam in the final match, while Myanmar will play Cambo-dia in the third place match after another semifinal match saw a 4-0 win by team Viet Nam over Cambodia.—Lynn Thit (Tgi)
