KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia A blew up like a carnival balloon when they collapsed 7-0 to South Africa in their final group match of the Mirnawan Cup at Ministry of Education (MoE) Stadium here today.
With the door to the final firmly shut, Malaysia A coach Sufian Zainal is now setting his sights on a bronze medal finish.
Malaysia A had displayed a commendable performance in earlier matches, defeating Australia All Star 2-1, losing 3-2 to Odisha of India, and beating Malaysia B 6-1.
But South Africa, who lost 3-2 to Australia, were made to look good as Malaysia A defenders were still asleep during the 8am match.
The match was decided by half-time, with South Africa leading 3-0 and adding four more goals in the second half.
Sufian said: "There were simply too many mistakes from my defenders, and South Africa scored easy goals. Every fifth time they broke into the Malaysian defence, a goal was scored with ease.
"However, we are without our 17-year-old players as they are preparing for their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examinations.
"But credit to our 16-year-olds, who gave a good account in the previous three matches," said Sufian.
RESULTS Boys: Australia All Star 1 Odisha 1, Malaysia A 0 South Africa 7.
FIXTURES
TOMORROW
Boys: Australia All Star v Malaysia B (8am), Odisha v South Africa (10am).
Girls: Odisha v South Africa (3pm), Japan v Malaysia A (5pm), Australia v Malaysia B (7pm).
* All matches at MoE Stadium, KL.