Kuala Lumpur: Myanmar were at their best yet again, beating Brunei Darussalam 6-0, while Singapore scored their first win with a 2-0 triumph over Laos in Kuala Lumpur 2017 Sea Games men's football Group A action on Friday.
Myanmar scored their third straight win and they warmed up for the August 21 showdown against hosts Malaysia perfectly at the UiTM Shah Alam Stadium.
Brunei, beaten 1-2 by Malaysia in their opening match, did well to defend their fort early on but had no answers when Aung Thu (pictured above) decided to take matters into his own hands.
The Myanmar striker already had three goals to his name from the earlier matches against Singapore and Laos, and got his fourth in the 24th minute.
Si Thu Aung doubled the lead in the 40th to ensure Myanmar remained very much in control of not only the match but also their bid to win the SEA Games gold after finishing runners-up in 2015.
After a slow start to the second half, Myanmar burst into action late into the match as Aung Kaung Mann hit a brace (73rd, 85th minutes) and Mg Mg Lwin and Than Paing scored stoppage time goals as Myanmar made it clear they are serious contenders for the title.
Singapore, beaten 0-2 and 1-2 by Myanmar and Malaysia respectively in their first two matches, desperately needed to win to keep their faint hopes of advancing to the semi-finals alive.
Laos were also in the same boat, having lost their opening tie 1-3 to Myanmar, but it was Singapore who started the brighter and they were rewarded early for their aggression at the Selayang Stadium.
It took Richard Tardy's men only three minutes to find the opener as Hanafi Akbar completed a surging run on the left with a cross across the Laos six-yard box which an unmarked Taufik Suparno booted home.
Singapore were two up eight minutes later through Ikhsan Fandi, who converted from the penalty spot after he had been brought down by Sipasong Bounthavy.
Content with their two-goal lead, the team from the Lion City were happy to sit back but Laos failed to take advantage.
Group A
Results
August 14: Myanmar 2-0 Singapore, Malaysia 2-1 Brunei
August 16: Singapore 1-2 Malaysia, Myanmar 3-1 Laos
August 18: Laos 0-2 Singapore, Brunei 0-6 Myanmar
Standings
Team P W D L F A Pts Myanmar 3 3 0 0 11 1 9 Malaysia 2 2 0 0 4 2 6 Singapore 3 1 0 2 3 4 3 Laos 2 0 0 2 1 5 3 Brunei 2 0 0 2 1 8 0
Fixtures
August 21: Brunei v Laos, Malaysia v Myanmar
August 23: Laos v Malaysia, Singapore v Brunei
Group B
Results
August 15: Indonesia 1-1 Thailand, Vietnam 4-0 Timor-Leste, Cambodia 0-2 Philippines
August 17: Vietnam 4-1 Cambodia, Indonesia 3-0 Philippines, Thailand 1-0 Timor-Leste
Standings
Team P W D L F A Pts Vietnam 2 2 0 0 8 1 6 Indonesia 2 1 1 0 4 1 4 Thailand 2 1 1 0 2 1 4 Philippines 2 1 0 1 2 3 3 Cambodia 2 0 0 2 1 6 0 Timor-Leste 2 0 0 2 0 5 0
Fixtures
August 20: Philippines v Vietnam, Timor-Leste v Indonesia, Thailand v Cambodia
August 22: Cambodia v Timor-Leste, Philippines v Thailand, Vietnam v Indonesia
August 24: Indonesia v Cambodia, Thailand v Vietnam, Timor-Leste v Philippines
August 26: Semi-finals
August 29: Final
Photos: MASOC
Source: the-afc.com