Sri Lanka were already eliminated from the knockout stage but Malaysia had slight hopes of getting into the semifinal if they had won against Sri Lanka.
However it was not to be as Nipuna Bandara gave Sri Lanka a 1-0 lead going into half time and thwarted the Malaysia fight back to win 2-1.
Forward Nipuna Bandara put Sri Lanka ahead in the 19th minute against the run of play.
Followed by a quick counter attack, midfielder Mohamed Shaheel provided a through pass to Sundaraj Niresh at the left edge of the box and Niresh cut the ball back to Bandara whose toe pocked ball hit the side post before entering into the net.
Malaysia, the defending champions, had two chances to equalize in the rest of the first half when Bobby Gonzales’ 36th-minute side-volley hit the woodwork and the substitute forward failed to beat Sri Lankan goalie Ruwan Arunasiri in a one-on-one situation in the added time.
Midfielder Chathuranga Sanjeewa made Malaysia’s job more difficult when he doubled the lead in the 63rd minute placing home in a forward pass of Chalana Chameera.
Malaysia managed to reduce the margin in the 82nd minute when defender Fazly Alias’ header slipped from Lankan keeper to enter the net following a cross of Hadin Azman.
Chathuranga Sanjeewa was awarded the Man of the Match.
