Timor-Leste U23, has successfully collected the first 3 points. Ready to rise to the top of the group temporarily after defeating Brunei U23 with a score of 3-1 in the AFF U23 Championship 2022 group stage, Group A at the Morodok Techo National Stadium in Phnom Penh.
Timor Leste started dominating proceedings right from the beginning. They had pinned Brunei back to the wall as they kept attacking with intent and purpose. In the very third minute, Elias Mesquita should have scored after he got hold of a delicious cross from the right flank by Joao Bosco.
In the 14th minute, they got another opportunity following a corner but John Oliveira’s shot crashed against the woodwork and went out of play. However a few minutes later, completely against the run of play, Brunei took the lead. Timor Leste’s defence failed to deal with a corner and the ball kept pinging inside the box. Fortunately for Muhammad Hakeme, the ball fell nicely at his feet and the attacking midfielder rippled the net with a perfectly placed shot.
After falling behind, Timor Leste pounced with more vigour for the equaliser and kept piling pressure on Brunei’s backline. Their sustained efforts paid dividends on the half-hour mark as they equalised through Mouzinho. Paulo Gali had an instant impact after coming off from the bench as he skipped past a couple of defenders before forcing a save from Abdul Mutalip. But the rebound fell for Mouzinho and he made no mistake to send the ball into the net.
The goal further boosted the morale of Fabio da Silva’s men and they kept asking tough questions of Brunei’s defence. Their persistence once again paid off as just at the nick of halftime, they took the lead through Gali after winning a free-kick within 25 yards from goal. Gali struck the ball sweetly and his shot took a nasty deflection off a Brunei defender which wrong-footed Mutalip. The keeper tried his best to recover but when he collected the ball, it had already trickled past the goal line.
The second half resumed in the same vein with Timor Leste enjoying the bulk of the possession. Mouzinho and Gali continued to be in the thick of things and were frequently testing Mutalip under the sticks. Just after the hour mark, the Raising Sun could have got their insurance goal when Yohanes Gusmao rifled in a venomous shot at goal. But Mutalip got his fingertips to it which slightly deviated the course of the ball forcing it to crash against the crossbar.
In the 81st minute, Timor-Leste finally got their third of the afternoon courtesy of an own goal from Brunei skipper Muhammad Aminuddin. Joao Bosco drilled in a low cross from the baseline which was poked into his own net by the centre-back while trying to clear his lines.
After this loss, Brunei are out of the competition but will return to action on February 20 against Philippines in the final group stage match. Meanwhile, Timor Leste will play at the same time against Cambodia in a bid to seal a knockout berth.
Credit Photo : Kem Sovanna
Source : Goal
