ym-malaysiaBrittany Whitfield's 76th minute goal gave the Young Matildas a 1 - 0 win over Malaysia in their opening match of the AFF Women's Championships at the Myanmar Youth Training Centre.

Whitfield, who less than 10 minutes earlier had missed a penalty,  eluded the offside trap to strike in off the post for the sole goal of the match.

It was a shaky start for the Young Matildas as Malaysia, playing their second match of the group game, handled the tricky conditions better and got off to a good start.  A strong back four held the Malaysians at bay before Australia's midfield slowly began to take control.

The Young Matildas first real opportunity came just after the half hour mark when Sarah Carroll's cross met by Hayley Raso but the Malaysian keeper Asma Junaidi was quick off her line to deny Raso.  Despite solid attacking pressure in the half, neither team could break the deadlock.

The U19s started the second half much better and with captain Chloe Logarzo introduced into the match it wasn't long before they had complete control of the match and started to create chances.  In the 50th minute Logarzo almost opened the scoring but her long range strike from 20 yards out just missed the target.

15 minutes later the Young Matildas had a golden opportunity to take the lead when they were awarded a penalty.  However, Asma stood her ground on the spot kick and Whitfield obliged by shoot straight at the 'keeper.

Just over 10 minutes later the striker made up for her miss when she converted her next chance to give the Young Matildas a first up win.

“Malaysia made things difficult for us,” said  coach Spencer Prior. “It was not a pretty match today but we were using a very young squad and it was important that they got this game.”

Australia       1 (Whitfield 76')

Malaysia        0

Starting XI: 18. Eliza Campbell (GK), 2. Rachel Soutar, 3. Georgia Yeoman-Dale (13. Meg McLaughlin 79'), 4. Grace Field, 9. Olivia Price, 10. Hayley Raso (7. Chloe Logarzo 46'), 11. Brittany Whitfield (c), 16. Natasha Wheeler, 17. Melissa Caceres, 19. Sarah Carroll, 20. Alisha Bass (15. Amy Harrison 46')