By Kieran Yap 7/8/25
Above : Australia’s U23 starting lineup. Photo: Football Australia
Myanmar 1-2 Australia U23
A late Holly Furphy goal was not enough for Australia’s U23’s as they were defeated 2-1 by Myanmar’s senior side in the first game of the ASEAN Championships in Vietnam.
Australia enjoyed the majority of possession over the game, but Myanmar did well to frustrate, stall and hamper momentum, while looking constantly dangerous on the counter attack.
The match commentator made an effort to emphasise that Myanmar’s side had played together for two and a half years, and that chemistry and organization was clear in the way that they defended in numbers and attacked at pace.
They were able to take the lead through a truly remarkable strike. A first time shot from distance by May Thet Mon Myint caught Sally James by surprise and dipped just under the bar to open the scoring in the 32nd minute.
The goal felt like a shock, but came on the back of Myanmar’s growing momentum, and they had looked dangerous leading up to it.
Australia’s plan to equalise suffered another unlikely set back in the second half. Jame’s was apologetic after giving the ball away with a pass out of defence, and Win Theingi Tun was in no mood to be charitable with the easiest of opportunities. She made no mistake and it was 2-0 in the 47th minute.
As the half wore on and with the weather taking a visible toll, Australia U23 coach Joe Palatsides turned to the bench, Melbourne Victory pair Holly Furphy and Alana Jancevski entered the match with Claudia Cicco and Leticia McKenna also coming on to try and rescue a point.
Jancevski made an almost immediate impact. Her shot was spilled by the goalkeeper and Aideen Keane’s follow up went narrowly wide.
Remarkably, Myanmar’s players looked both better adjusted to the oppressive heat, but also more in need of rests on the pitch, the need for cramp or assistance for knocks was in contrast to their ability to run in numbers and pressure relentlessly. As Australia started to build momentum, it was inevitably stalled by fortunately timed yet quickly healed injuries to Myanmar’s defenders.
In the 85th minute, Australia grabbed a lifeline. A smooth attack down the left wing ended up with Keane who’s low cross was attacked with Furphy’s well timed run and excellent finish.
The Victory forward has a knack for making an impact of the bench, and while she is usually played off a wing, her movement for the goal was pure striker’s instinct.
Buoyed by the goal, Australia found another gear, Mckenna had an effort go wide, and Furphy came close to a second, but Myanmar’s defence held firm for the 2-1 win.
It was a huge win for the unfancied Myanmar side, and the Aussies will likely be disappointed. But the errors are fixable and they should be better placed for a result in the next game against The Philippines. In the last edition of this tournament, Australia also lost their first game but went on to score 16 goals in the next four games.
Counter-attacks remain something of a recurring issue when Australia faces senior sides in Asia, and this was another example. The speed of Sasha Grove at fullback may help remedy that, and Furphy may have done enough to earn a start.
“We think that we performed quite well, even though we had quite disrupted preparation,” said Australia U23 coach Joe Palatsides in the post-match referring to the single training session they had before the game.
“We also knew that Mynamar was a well organized team.
“We were a bit disappointed that we didn’t win, but I give credit to Myanmar for being defensively organized.
“We just couldn’t take out chances at the end, because we had pretty good chances to equalise.”
He acknowledged that the loss has made qualification from the group difficult following the loss.
“Now we have to try and beat The Philippines in the next game.
“If we’re good enough we’ll be able to do that…I’ve got confidence in the girls.
“Our preparation wasn’t what we wanted it to be. One training session before we started probably wasn’t enough.
“Now we’ll have a couple of days to try and organize things a bit better, so I’m looking forward to The Philippines game. I know they’re a strong opponent. It’s going to be a very tough challenge but we’ll try our best.”
That late goal may not have been enough to rescue a point, but it may come in handy when the group is decided.
Australia will play The Philippines on Sunday night at 10:30pm AEST.
Teams: AUSTRALIA U23: James, Lemon, Chinnama, Tonbkin, Johnston, Cassidy, Woods, Murray, Sakalis, Keane, Rasmussen. Substitutes: Gomez, Furphy, Jancevski, Mckenna, Cicco, Lincoln, Cerne, Tumeth, Chessari, Grove, Franco.
Scorers: Furphy 85’
MYANMAR: Myo, Hnin, Oo, Phyu, May, Wai, P. Win, Tun, Thaw, T Win, Yu. Substitutes: Win Win, Lin, Nan, Than, Tun, Ei, Khin, Lu, Zu, Tun Kin, Yoon, Thandar Tun Khin.
Scorers: Myint 32’, Tun 47’.
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