Vietnam looks to overcome deficit in second leg
FELL in the first leg of their ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup semifinal, 2-1, to Indonesia, Vietnam looks to make up for lost ground in the second leg today in its home field in Hanoi.
To take place at the My Dinh Stadium, the “Golden Stars” are out to overcome the one- goal deficit it is facing entering the contest and book a final seat, its first if ever since the 2010 edition of the biennial tournament.
Vietnam fell early in the opener when Indonesia defender Hansamu Pranata put the “Garudas” ahead at the seventh minute off a header, converting a corner kick from teammate Rizki Pora.
The Golden Stars, however, would level things 10 minutes later with Nguyen Van Quyet scoring on a penalty kick.
The two sides finished tied at the end of the opening half, 1-1.
It did not take long though for Indonesia to seize the upper hand again care of captain Boas Salossa, who calmly connected on a penalty kick of his own at the 50th minute after teammate Stefano Lilipaly was tackled in the box.
Vietnam tried to get back the point it gave away for the remainder of the match but Indonesia was not to allow any comeback to happen and held on for the win.
Despite falling short and their backs now against the wall, Viet- nam coach Nguyen Huu Thang was satisfied with their performance in the first leg and was bullish of their chances today of winning and advancing.
“We lost but my players showed their true style of play today and that made me happy. We showed mental toughness and competed very well on the field. I think a draw would have been a fair result but it wasn’t to be,” Mr. Huu Thang was quoted as saying after the match by the official Web site of the AFF Suzuki Cup.
“We still have a match at home so we still have a big chance. The one away goal can be in our advantage when we play in Hanoi. The result was difficult to take but we are confident we can still win,” he added.
The winner in the semifinals between Vietnam and Indonesia will take on the victor of the other semifinal pairing between defending champion Thailand and Myanmar. Thailand took the first leg, 2-0.
Vietnam won the Suzuki Cup in 2008 while Indonesia has yet to win it but has been a runnerup four times before. —