Australia's Young Socceroos have won the ASEAN Football Federation under-19 championship in Thailand with a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over South Korea.
Goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne was the hero, pulling off three saves in the shoot-out, which took the place of extra time because of torrential rain in Bangkok.
Redmayne also made several crucial saves during regulation time, which ended with the sides locked at 0-0.
After the first penalty attempts by each side were saved, Sebastian Ryall, Jason Naidovski and captain James Holland converted, with Tahj Minniecon providing the only hiccup for the Australians.
Young Socceroos head coach Jan Versleijen said the win in the four-team tournament would be a morale boost ahead of the AFC under-19 Youth Championships, which double as 2009 under-20 World Cup qualifiers, beginning on October 31.
"Every game we improved, the players had a better understanding of the combinations creating chances," he said.
"It was pleasing to win the tournament.
"Now we have to prepare for the qualifiers and I can see improvement that will give us confidence leading into the qualifiers."
China defeated Thailand 3-0 in the play-off for third place.
The AFC tournament will be held in Saudi Arabia from October 31 to November 14.
The top four nations qualify for the FIFA under-20 World Cup to be held in Egypt in July next year.
