Qantas Joeys go through Qualifiers undefeated
The Qantas Joeys have finished their AFC U-16 Championship 2010 (Qualifiers) tournament undefeated with a 2-1 victory over Malaysia in Canberra today.
The Qantas Joeys have finished their AFC U-16 Championship 2010 (Qualifiers) tournament undefeated with a 2-1 victory over Malaysia in Canberra today.
Even though they had already guaranteed qualification for next year-s AFC U-16 Championship, the Qantas Joeys fielded a strong team to keep their record throughout the tournament intact.
The Qantas Joeys took an early lead when Jesse Makarounas finished a well constructed goal after midfielder Brodie Paterson-s through ball found the striker in full flight before slotting home the opening goal in the 9th minute.
Mid-way through the first half the Qantas Joeys came close to extending their lead when a first time shot by Paterson struck the inside of the right post but the resulting rebound rolled across the face of goal before an off-side call denied Australia-s second goal.
Malaysia nearly capitalised on the Qantas Joeys misfortune only minutes later when captain Muhammad Ammar stepped through the Australian defence but his shot on goal was stopped by an equally impressive save by goal-keeper Lachlan Tibbles.
Brodie Paterson was again in the thick of the action when he set up the Qantas Joeys second goal after laying off a free kick at the top of the 18-yard box to his captain Milos Degenek who blasted his perfectly placed first time shot through a crowded penalty box into the bottom left corner of the goal just after the half hour mark.
Malaysia pulled a goal back just before half-time when Muhammad Akmal got enough of a touch on the ball, after a foot race with the Qantas Joeys defence, to slide his shot past Lachlan Tibbles who was racing off his line to close the striker down.
Down a goal at the break, Malaysia took control early in the second half and had a couple chances to equalise.
A miss kick from Tibbles in the first five minutes of the second half nearly saw a second goal for Malaysia but the scrambling Qantas Joeys defence and a quick recovery from the goal-keeper denied an equaliser.
Moments later Muhammad Akhir had a chance of his own when the ball feel to his feet in the penalty area but his first time shot was fired high and wide to the relief of the Qantas Joeys.
With opportunities few and far between in the second stanza, the Qantas Joeys best chance of the half came in the 74th minute when substitute Joshua Da Silva found himself one-on-one with Mohamad Firdaus, the Malaysian goal-keeper. Unfortunately the striker couldn-t get enough purchase on his shot with the ball cleared off the goal-line by the tracking Malaysian defence after beating Firdaus.
The Qantas Joeys hung on to claim their third victory of the tournament and extend their points lead at the top of Group H to ultimately qualify for next year-s AFC U-16 Championship.
Qantas Joeys head coach Jean-Paul de Marigny saw the tournament as a “very successful” one for his squad.
“For us, the most important results were that the players developed technical and tactically over the past fortnight, experienced their first international tournament and qualified for next year-s AFC U-16 Championship,” de Marigny said following their final match.
“I-m sure the boys learnt a lot in the four games and being in camp together for such a long period of time will also be of great benefit in future.
“So all in all I think it was very successful campaign and we can now look to the next stage,” concluded de Marigny.
Match Details:
Qantas Joeys 2 (Jesse Makarounas 9-, Milos Degenek 33-) Malaysia 1 (Muhammad Akmal 44-) Canberra, Australia
Qantas Joeys line-up: 1.Lachlan Tibbles, 4.Connor Chapman (2.Samuel Chapple 46-), 5.Hayden Morton, 6.Milos Degenek, 7.Jake Monaco, 9.Jesse Makarounas, 11.Brodie Paterson (10.Joshua Da Silva 66-), 13.Corey Brown, 14.Alex Cerruto, 15.Giancarlo Gallifuoco (8.Yianni Perkatis 61-), 16.Jakob Williams
Substitutes Not Used: 3.Andrew Mullett, 12.Daniel Sadaka, 20.Kwame Yeboah, 21.Allan Welsh, 23.Stevan Ilic, 24.Kwabena Boahene, 32.Aaron Liddell (gk), 37.Luke Remington
Yellow Cards: Brodie Paterson 49- Red Cards: nil
Malaysia line-up: 4.Muhammad Nazmi Faiz (14.Mohamad Fareez Fitri 46-), 5.Muhammad Syazwan, 6.Mohamad Ashmawi, 11.Muhammad Ammar (c), 13.Mohammad Ridzuan (12.Nur Areef 41-), 15.Mohamad Azzizan, 16.Muhammad Shaaban, 20.Muhamad Akhir, 22.Mohamad Firdaus (gk), 23.Muhammad Akmal, 25.Mohamad Fazrul (9.Muhammad Rijal Fikry 89-)
Substitutes Not Used: 1.Muhammad Illham, 2.Osman B in Mohamad, 21.Muhamad Syazani, 25.Mohamad Fazrul, 26.Muhammad Amil Syukri
Yellow Cards: Mohamad Fazrul 62- Red Cards: Nil