MYANMAR secured the regions most prestigious youth soccer tournament last Friday when they downed arch-rival Malaysia 1-0 in a scrappy game in Indonesia.

Striker Hla Aye Htwe sent the ball into the net at the second minute from the start, but neither side could net another during the ensuring 90 minutes of play and the trophy now heads to Myanmar.

It was a fitting end for the under-20 national side which had been marked as one of the favourites going into the tournament. The victory, in front of a big crowd in Palemberg, went a long way to atoning for Myanmar’s heartbreaking loss to Thailand (4-1) in the 2002 final.

Malaysia’s attacks from both wings using long balls were well managed by Myanmar’s defenders throughout the match. In the bid to seal victory Myanmar stopped attacking play around the 70th minute and turned to defensive.

Myanmar was drawn in Group A of the championship along with Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, and the host Indonesia. It won all matches except a 4-3 loss to Indonesia, to top the group.

Myanmar entered the final via a heart stopping victory over Vietnam. The match was drawn with Myanmar winning 6-5 on penalties.

“I am very delighted to see the Myanmar team win a regional championship,” the president of the Myanmar Football Federation, U Zaw Zaw, told Myanmar Times.

The victory was the first for U Zaw Zaw, who took the responsibility of the president of MFF in last February.

“I am very proud of the coach and the players as a success came into being by their effort,” he said.

The team, that included players from Myanmar Premier League teams, had only one international competition experience in Euro-Asia Sports Festival in Thailand in June.