Malaysia made a roaring start in the 4th Yamaha Asean Cup Under-13 tournament with debutants Malaysia Blue giving former champions Vietnam a hiding with a 3-0 win in Group A while Malaysia Yellow stopped defending champions Thailand with a 2-1 win in Group B at the Petaling Jaya Stadium, Kelana Jaya today.
It was a well deserved win for the Malaysian Blues after a subdued first half as Vietnam, the 2008 champions, looked threatening in the first half as the match progressed.
The Malaysian Blues were breathing fire after the break although it took a penalty in the 45th minute for the homesters to turn the tide in their favour. Aqil Danish Azman made no mistake from the spot when he sent Vietnam keeper Vu Huu Minh diving the other way.
That was all the Malaysian Blues needed to stamp their superiority with Haiqal Iskandar tapping in a cross from the left by Aqil in the 60th minute before substitute Aiman Ariff completed the rout with a solo attempt deep into injury time.
In the second match of the day, Malaysia Yellow edged defending champions Thailand to a 2-1 in a Group B match. Malaysia Yellow grabbed the lead as early as the eighth minute through Nazirul Hasif Mailang whose volley into the left corner from inside the box beat Thai goalkeeper Patcharaphon Kaewkham all the way.
But the Thais drew level through Yuthapichai Lertlum in the 40th minute, who took advantage of a defensive lapse in the Malaysian backline and throw his team a lifeline. However, Malaysia Yellow were not to be denied a morale boosting win – thanks to a brilliant effort by Nurfais Johari, whose stinging grounder taken on the run gave Partcharaphon no chance at all.
The family of Shane Todd, a U.S. scientist found hanged dead in Singapore last year, will not participate in the remainder of a coroner’s inquiry into his death.