by Fadhil Yunus
Brunei Darussalam’s under-19 team were on the receiving end of a drubbing for a second consecutive match when they were mauled 11-0 by Malaysia in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-19 Championship Qualifiers 2020 at the National Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Wednesday night.
The Young Wasps were heavily beaten 9-0 by Thailand in their second Group ‘G’ tie, having opened their campaign with a 4-3 win against Northern Mariana Islands.
The result equalled their biggest defeat in the qualifying competition at the age group when they succumbed to an identical 11-0 loss to Asian powerhouse South Korea at the Paju Public Stadium in 2017.
Malaysia rising star Luqman Hakim bin Shamsudin, who will ink a five-year deal with Belgian side K V Kortrijk when he turns 18 next March, completed a hat-trick in a space of three minutes before adding a fourth four minutes before the break.
With a Bruneian opponent unable to close him down in time, Malaysia’s under-19 defender Muhammad Azrin Afiq bin Rusmini belted a screamer from distance to open the floodgates in the 17th minute.
The Young Tigers, who are Thailand’s closest rivals, were awarded a penalty after Brunei’s Mohd Hadif Aiman bin Haji Adanan appeared to have tripped forward Muhammad Muslihuddin Atiq bin Mat Zaid.
Brunei’s goalkeeper Abdul Taufik bin Talip guessed the right way but there was no chance to keep out Luqman Hakim bin Shamsudin who struck his penalty with venom.
Luqman Hakim did not take long to grab the second as he rifled home from the edge of the box. The hat-trick happened in a flash as he steered the ball into the empty net after the Brunei goalkeeper left his lines.
Brunei’s Abdul Taufik could only parry away an initial shot from Muhammad Shafi Azswad bin Sapari into the path of Muhammad Azam bin Azmi Murad who had the simplest of tasks of guiding the ball home from close range.
Brunei had their best chance of the game to pull one back when Md Aisan Aizuddin bin Abdullah Md Aiman sliced his effort wide after collecting the ball from a teammate’s flicked header.
Malaysia substitute Mohd Aiman Afif bin Md Afizul added his name in the score-sheet after finding the bottom corner following good work from Muhammad Umar Hakeem bin Suhar Redzuan.
The young Brunei side conceded a seventh in the first half when Luqman Hakim freed himself from the defence and drilled a fine finish past the hapless Abdul Taufik.
Malaysia were awarded a second penalty of the match after Brunei defender Mohammad Nazry Aiman bin Azaman was adjudged to have brought down the excellent Luqman Hakim.
Penalty duties fell to Harith Haiqal bin Adam Afkar who made no mistake from the spot.
To add salt to Brunei’s wounds, Muhammad Azam bagged a brace in the hour mark as he easily slotted the ball home into the gaping goalmouth with no Brunei defender in sight.
Joining the act, Malaysia’s substitute Muhammad Hazim bin Abu Zaid skipped past his marker but his shot hit the goalkeeper’s leg and out for a corner.
Aiman Afif connected from a teammate’s cross for his second of the game as his country hit double digits before the Kedah star wrapped up the goal frenzy with a hat-trick in injury time.
The Young Wasps will be hoping to sign out on a high when they conclude their campaign against hosts Cambodia this Sunday.
