Qantas Joeys draw with Malaysia
Malaysia came from behind to salvage a 2-2 draw with the Qantas Joeys in a AFC U-16 Championship 2010 qualifying match in Canberra.
The Qantas Joeys opened the scoring through Stevan Ilic after 12 minutes who collected his own rebound. Ilic-s initial shot was saved by Firdaus but the striker showed his strength to regain possession and slot home the first goal of the game.
Both sides had their share of chances in the first half, however, great keeping from Firdaus ensured scored remained 1-0 at the break.
Ten minutes before half time Ilic nearly had his second of the match after a sharp turn at the box of the box and a quick shot forced save diving to his right before denying Qantas Joeys midfielder Joshua Da Silva with another diving save to palm the shot past his left post.
Malaysia-s best chance of the half came in injury time when Muhammad Rijal was played through on goal but pressure from Qantas Joeys custodian Lachlan Tibbles forced the strikers shot to hit the side netting.
Malaysia had a chance to equalise ten minutes after half time when substitute Syed Ahmad Syahirul was brought down in the box but Muhammad Hanif-s subsequent penalty was put over the bar.
The Qantas Joeys extended their lead in the 71st minute after a cross from Brodie Paterson found two free team mates in front of goal.Both Gallifuoco and Ilic went up for the header, but the goal was awarded to Gallifuoco.
Malaysia reduced the deficit in the 75th minute after Tibbles misjudged a cross and spilt the ball before Nik Syafiq Syazwan beat the defence in a foot race to head home into an empty net.
Malaysia then equalised in the 85th minute when a free kick from Muhammad Nazmi on the left deceived everyone and found the back of the net to level the scores.
Malaysia had the chance to take the win in additional time when they received a free kick from the edge of the area.The resulting set piece curled straight into the arms of Tibbles who did well to take the ball under pressure from the Malaysian strikers following in.
The Qantas Joeys next match will be against Laos on Monday 12 October.
Match Details: Qantas Joeys 2 (Stevan Ilic 12-, Giancarlo Gallifuoco 71-) Malaysia 2 (Nik Syafiq Syazwan 75-, Muhammad Nazmi Faiz 85-) Canberra, Australia
Qantas Joeys Line-up: 1.Lachlan Tibbles, 2.Samuel Chapple, 4.Connor Chapman, 5.Hayden Morton, 7.Jake Monaco (6.Milos Degenek 64-), 8.Yianni Perkatis, 10.Joshua Da Silva (15.Giancarlo Gallifuoco 56-), 11.Brodie Paterson, 14.Alex Cerruto, 16.Jakob Williams, 23.Stevan Ilic (9.Jesse Makarounas 86-)
Substitutes Not Used: 3.Andrew Mullett, 13.Corey brown, 17.Abe wheelhouse, 20.Kwame yeboah, 24.Kwabena boahene, 32.Aaron liddell (gk), 37.Luke remington
Yellow Cards: Morton 65-, Ilic 65- Red Cards: nil
Malaysia Line-up: 4.Muhammad Nazmi Faiz, 5.Muhammad Syazwan, 7.Nik Syafiq Syazwan (14.Mohamad Fareez Fitri 84-), 8.Muhammad Hanif, 9.Muhammad Rijal Fikry (10.Syed Ahmad Syahirul 57-), 11.Muhammad Ammar (c), 13.Mohammad Ridzuan, 16.Muhammad Shaaban, 17.Muhammad Hafiz, 20.Muhamad Akhir, 22.Mohamad Firdaus (gk),
Substitutes Not Used: 1.Muhammad Illham, 2.Osman B in Mohamad, 6.Mohamad Ashmawi, 15.Mo hamad Azzizan, 18.Mohamad Yazid, 21.Muhamad Syazani, 25.Mohamad Fazrul, 26.Muhammad Amil Syukri
Yellow Cards: Nazmi 47-/91+-, Shaaban 65- Red Cards: Nazmi 91+-