Joeys account for Cambodia

The Joeys have defeated Cambodia 4-0 in their opening match of the AFF U-16 Aya Bank Championship 2013 which is currently being held in Naypyidaw, Myanmar.

The Joeys have defeated Cambodia 4-0 in their opening match of the AFF U-16 Aya Bank Championship 2013 which is currently being held in Naypyidaw, Myanmar.

The Joeys got off to the perfect start opening the scoring in the 3rd minute after Panetta turned his defender just inside the attacking half, put a through ball in behind the Cambodian defence for Daniel Maskin to run onto and a provide a first time cross for Jackson Bandiera to finish at the far post.

The second goal came in the 14th minute when Zachary Speth hit a corner to the top of the box for Jamie Dimitroff who took one to control and then unleashed a driving left foot finish to the top right corner giving the Cambodian goalkeeper no chance of saving.

The Joeys lead was tripled in the 33rd minute following some good build up play through the midfield that resulted in Maskin being released down the right hand side. Maskin beat his defender and then crossed into the box to Bandiera. Bandiera was able to turns his opponent with his first touch and then neatly finish into the bottom left corner.

The second half saw the Joeys dominate play and create numerous chances, with the Australian defence goal never tested.

The final goal came in the 82nd minute with a play that started with Maskin playing a 1-2 with Cameron Joice, then delivers a cross to Kosta Petratos. Petratos was then closed down by the Cambodian goalkeeper for the ball to spill out for Petratos to pass across the goal and Maskin to finish from close range.

Joeys Head Coach Tony Vidmar was very pleased with his team-s first up performance.

“For our first up competitive game I was happy with the result. We controlled most parts of the game and created good goal scoring chances, in which we should have scored some more goals,” said Vidmar.

“At times in the game our decision making let us down and an area of improvement need at international football.

“When Cambodia had possession we made them work very hard to keep it which forced them to turn over possession. Our work rate in the transition moments was ok, but we need to improve on it,” concluded Vidmar.

In the other Group A match, Vietnam defeated Myanmar by the same margin, 4-0.

The Joeys will play their second match of the AFF U-16 Championship against the host nation Myanmar on 22 August, then Brunei on 24 August and their final group match will be against Vietnam on 26 August. The top teams from each group will then face each other in the semi-finals on 31 August with the winners to meet in the final which will be played on 2 September.

The AFC U-16 Championship qualifiers will be held in Hong Kong from 21-29 September with the top two teams progressing to the AFC U-16 Championship which will be held in Thailand from 2014.

Match Details Joeys 4 (Bandiera 3-/33-, Dimitroff 14-, Maskin 82-) Cambodia 0

Joeys line-up: Osipov, Verbi, Rowles, Fotakopoulous, Speth, Masking, Kim, Panetta, Bandiera, Dimitroff, Reiners,

Yellow card: Verbi (70”)

Subs: Petratos for Bandiera Joice for Reiners Caletti for Kim