Thais win AFF U19 title

Thailand U19s shredded the Vietnam's net for a 6-0 victory in the final of the ASEAN Football Federation's U19 Championship in Vientiane, Laos, on September 4.

Captain Worachit Kanit-sribumphen and midfielder Anon Amornlertsak bagged a double each while Suksan Mungpao and Ritthidet Phensawat were the other goal scorers.

After studying the playing style of Vietnam for nearly 45 minutes Thailand opened the goal scoring spree with Kanit-sribumphen hitting home in the last seconds of the first half.

His shot touched Vietnam's midfielder Mai Duc Viet Anh and changed direction to go to the net of goalkeeper Nguyen Thanh Tuan, who had kept the net clean till then.

Kanitsribumphen ended up as the best scorer of the tournament with his second goal in the 84th minute, to make it six in the tournament.

The Thais showed better skills and understanding between members during the match. They were not only good at combining with each other in a small area but also excelled with their long passes.

Mungpao made it 2-0, 12 minutes after the interval, when he broke away from the Vietnamese defenders to net into the right corner.

While Vietnam struggled to find its way into the Thai box, their rival made it 3-0 easily in the 69th minute. Phensawat ran from behind into the box and converted his teammate's accurate pass into a goal with a straight shot that was out of Tuan's reach, although it had the Vietnamese at full stretch.

Vietnam missed their best chance of the match as substitute Nguyen Tien Linh gave a smart pass to Ha Duc Chinh whose shot hit the pole. The ball then came to defender Ho Tan Tai, but his close-range header again hit the cross bar.

Captain Nguyen Trong Dai made an awful mistake in the box in an attempt to defend his net, leading to a penalty for the Thais just three minutes before the end.

Amornlertsak scored the fifth goal for his side and needed another two minutes to secure his second with a strong shot that found no resistance from Tuan.

In the third-place play-off earlier Laos won a historic bronze medal after beating Malaysia 3-2 in a penalty shootout.

It is their first ever medal in a regional tournament and the glory was also shared by Vietnamese Phan Ton Loi, who is the head coach of the team.

The match was forced into a shootout after a 1-1 draw at the end of official time.

Laos' goalkeeper Saymanolinh Paseuth was the hero of the team for successfully saving three shots from the Malaysian side.-VNA