SINGAPORE - Myanmar forward Than Paing arrived in Singapore last week ready to score goals at the Asean Football Federation Suzuki Cup.

But his plan went awry after the 25-year-old was one of 10 players who had to be re-tested for Covid-19 after returning positive tests initially.

While he subsequently tested negative, he was ruled out of Myanmar's opening 3-0 defeat by Singapore last Sunday (Dec 5).

Back on the pitch against Timor-Leste on Wednesday, a fired up Than Paing scored Myanmar's opening goal at the National Stadium to help Myanmar to a 2-0 victory over their Group A opponents.

The victory was Myanmar's first in five competitive games since a 1-0 win over Mongolia in November 2019, while Timor-Leste slumped to their second defeat in as many matches after going down 2-0 to Thailand on Sunday.

Myanmar coach Antoine Hey said Than Paing's performance showed why he is a key member of the team.

He added: "We missed him (against Singapore) especially in set pieces because of his strength in the air. We are happy with what he has done today especially when he couldn't train for the last four days. We are happy that he is back."

Hey also credited his side for their quick recovery from the 3-0 loss to Singapore.

He said: "The first match was under difficult circumstances for us. Sitting in the hotel room, the players were wondering what is happening, whether they had Covid-19 and the next day they had to go out and play in front of a home crowd.

"It was not easy. We had to recover from that defeat to get this victory in a must-win game so that we still have a chance to qualify for a semi-final."

Than Paing, who plys his trade at Yangon United, is a household name back home after netting the winner in their 1-0 win over the United Arab Emirates in an Asian Football Confederation U-19 Championship quarter-final in Yangon in 2014, a result that saw Myanmar qualifying for their first U-20 Fifa World Cup.

Fans were treated to another fine display on Wednesday as he made the most out of Timor-Leste defender Nelson Viegas's miscued clearance to head home in the 15th minute.

Myanmar then doubled their lead in the 51st minute through captain Mg Mg Lwin, who finished coolly past goalkeeper Junildo Pereira after being fed by Hein Htet Aung from the right flank.

Myanmar's victory means that they join Singapore and Thailand on three points. A win for Singapore in the tie against Philippines later on Wednesday will take the Lions to the top and will leave Myanmar needing a win against Thailand to have any chance of progressing to the semi-finals.

Timor-Leste will next face Philippines on Saturday and Myanmar take on Thailand later in the evening.

Analysis

Despite the 3-0 loss to Singapore on the opening day of the Suzuki Cup, many who witnessed the game would have felt that the scoreline did not do justice to Myanmar's performance on the field.

Coach Hey also pointed to avoidable individual errors that proved to be his team's undoing against the Lions.

But against Timor-Leste, Myanmar showed that with a focal point up front - in forward Than Paing - they can cause damage to defences at this tournament and spring a few surprises.

With captain Mg Mg Lwin again looking sprightly here and being the creative spark in the team, Myanmar are always going to create chances.

Rivals like Thailand will need to proceed with caution against Myanmar after this performance.