AFC Cup: Maldives side Maziya Sports were beaten by Myanmar's outfit Ayeyawady United 3-0

Yangon, MYANMAR - A pair of early goals helped Ayeyawady United to a 3-0 victory over Maldives side Maziya Sports and Recreation on Wednesday as the Myanmar Cup holders claimed their first points in Group G and put themselves back into the running for a spot in the knockout rounds of the AFC Cup.

Ayeyawady were facing an early exit from the tournament after losing their first three games in the group but they made a sensational start at the Youth Training Centre as goals by Dominik Bersnjak and Leandro Duarte put them 2-0 up in the first seven minutes.

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Nay Lin Tun headed in a third goal just before half-time to seal an emphatic win for the home side, who remained at the bottom of the group but are now just one point behind Maziya and three behind second-placed Vietnamese side SHB Da Nang with two games left. The result also ensured that group leaders Kelantan, who beat Da Nang 1-0 in Vietnam earlier on Wednesday, will advance to the Round of 16.

Tournament debutants Maziya beat Ayeyawady 3-1 in the Maldives last week but it was the home side that began brightly in Yangon as they stormed out to a quick 2-0 lead.

Slovenian forward Bersnjak put the Myanmar side ahead after only five minutes when he received the ball from Leandro in the Maziya box and steered a shot past goalkeeper Mohamed Imran to break the deadlock.

Two minutes later, Leandro went from provider to scorer as he received a pass in the Maziya penalty area and fired home to put his side in complete control.

Nay Lin Tun then extended his side’s lead two minutes before half-time when he got on the end of a cross by Bersnjak from the right and sent a glancing header past Mohamed Imran.

Maziya coach Ismail Mahfooz felt that his side had blown a big opportunity to close the gap on their rivals in the group.

“Ayeyawady United played very well in today’s match but my players lost their focus in the match and they did not take their chances to score so that is why we lost,” he explained.

“It is a heavy blow for us because we expected to win this match in order to qualify for the next round. We still have a couple of big games coming up but we believe that it will be very difficult for us to qualify for the next round now.”

maldivesoccer.com