Bahrain denied Malaysia a place in the grand final of the AFF Under-16 Youth championships after the teams drew 1-1 at the Stadium Lebak Bulus in Jakarta yesterday.

Lim Kim Chon’s boys went ahead in the 15th minute through Ahmad Fauzan Yahya and seemed certain of victory when Salman Ahmed Aldakheel equalised in stoppage time.

Australia finished top in the five-team round-robin tournament with 10 points while Bahrain finished ahead of Malaysia in second spot on goal difference. Both had seven points each.

Singapore were fourth with two points and Indonesia finished with just a point.

Malaysia beat Singapore 2-0 in their opening game before crashing 1-4 to Australia. The Malaysians then bounced back to beat Indonesia 2-0.

In today’s grand final, Australia will play Bahrain while Malaysia will face Singapore for the third placing match.

Source: The Star