Qantas Joeys continue on winning ways

The Qantas Joeys have won their third consecutive match at the AFF Under 16 Youth Championship, defeating Malaysia 4-1 at the Lebak Bulus Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The Qantas Joeys have won their third consecutive match at the AFF Under 16 Youth Championship, defeating Malaysia 4-1 at the Lebak Bulus Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia.

All the goals in the match were scored in an eventful second half, with both Kamal Ibrahim and Kerem Bulut grabbing a double each.

After a frustrating first half, which saw Australia dominate possession but unable to break down the stern defensive wall that Malaysia had employed.

But the shackles were broken early in the second half with Ibrahim making a strong run into the box, going past one defender and blasting his shot past the keeper.

One quickly became two, with Nathan Farrell directing the perfect cross to Ibrahim, who made no mistake with his header for his second of the game.

Australia took their foot off the pedal and Malaysia responded with a goal in the 62nd minute and then tested the Australian for s short while looking for an equaliser.

But the Joeys regrouped and restored the two-goal buffer in the 83rd minute, with Joseph Costa whipping in a cross and Bulut powered home a header.

Bulut then made it 4-1 in the 90th minute, scoring at the second attempt, after his header was blocked by the keeper, but he made no mistake with the rebound.

After the match, Qantas Joeys coach Martyn Crook said, “We were comfortable in the first half and as long as we had the opportunity to score, we knew that we could win this game.

“We controlled the match but I was a little concerned with Malaysia-s ability on the break, as they have some good players. However, we were a little sloppy after going 2-0 in front, but these are some of the things which the players need to work on.”

Match Details

Qantas Joeys 4 (Kamal Ibrahim 52-/56-, Kerem Bulut 83-/90-) Malaysia 1

Qantas Joeys line-up: Lawrence Thomas (gk); Nathan Farrell, Petar Franjic, Brendan Hamill, Chahine Noujaim, Kamal Ibrahim (Koh Satake), Jared Lum, Chris Bush (Ben Kantarovski), Nikola Stanojevic, Tedros Yabio (Joseph Costa), Kerem Bulut. Subs not used: Million Butshiire, Ben Harrington, Robert Kolak (gk), Trent Sainsbury, Marc Warren

Cautions: Ibrahim (48-), Thomas (86-)

AFF Under 16 Youth Championship
 Team P  W  D  L  F  A  GD  Pts 
 1 Australia3300122109
 2 Bahrain 32014226
 3 Malaysia210134-13
 4 Singapore200203-30
 5 Indonesia200208-80

 

Match Schedule

9 July 08 - Australia 2:1 Bahrain 11 July 08 - Australia 6:0 Indonesia 13 July 08 - Australia 4:1 Malaysia 15 July 08 - Australia v Singapore 17 July 08 - Bye 19 July 08 - Finals (Australia is already guaranteed a place in the final)