Rozaimi and Junior strike as Malaysia edge Myanmar

Malaysian striker A. Thamil Arasu (centre) in action against four Myanmar defenders during the final of the Merdeka Tournament at the Darul Makmur Stadium in Kuantan on Saturday.

KUANTAN: The Malaysian Under-23 team edged Myanmar 2-0 to lift the Merdeka Tournament trophy at the Darul Makmur Stadium on Saturday.

Striker Mohd Rozaimi Abdul Rahman and midfielder Junior Eldstal found the back of the net in the 28th and 94th minutes respectively to win the tournament for the 10th time since its inception in 1957.

The champions took home RM164,500 and the runners-up picked up RM98,700.

Winger Wan Zack Haikal Wan Nor, who was the star of the tournament, deservedly picked up the Most Valuable Player and Man-of-the-Match awards after another excellent performance for the team last night. Rozaimi, who bagged three goals in the tournament, won the top scorer’s award.

National Under-23 coach Ong Kim Swee started the match with Rozaimi and A. Thamil Arasu in attack while bringing in winger Syahrul Azwari in place of D. Saarvindran.

Rozaimi had a nervy start but grew in confidence as the match progressed to combine well with nippy winger Wan Zack who provided him with most of the crosses.

The Wan Zack–Rozaimi combination clicked in the 28th minute when the latter pounced after Myanmar goalkeeper Pyaye Phyo Aung’s fumbled with Wan Zack’s shot.

However, the goal was not enough to subdue Myanmar, who gallantly staged a fightback in their search for the equaliser.

And it kept Malaysia’s defenders K. Reuben, Nik Shahrul Azim Abdul Azim, Mohd Fadhli Shas, Mohd Zubir Azmi and goalkeeper Mohd Izham Tarmizi on their toes for the duration of the match.

Both sides lived dangerously, playing an open box-to-box game without throwing caution to the wind.

It was quite fortunate that Eldstal netted a second goal in added time to send the 25,000-strong fans in the stadium into a frenzy.

In the third placing playoff, Singapore edged Thailand 2-1 to return home with RM65,800 while the War Elephants received RM32,900.

The Singaporeans nicked the win in the 92nd minute through Mohd Faris Ramli after Thai substitute Hasan Maeroh scored the equaliser in the 82nd. Mohd Syafiq Ghani gave Singapore the lead in the 46th minute.