Vietnam says goodbye to SEA Games football title

Vietnam dropped another opportunity to conquer their long-standing SEA Games football gold medal after losing 1-2 at the hands of Myanmar in their first semifinal match at the National Stadium in Kallang, Singapore on Saturday afternoon.

Mac Hong Quan squanders so many opportunities to score for Vietnam. (Credit: vnexpress.net)

Vietnam coach Toshiya Miura put his strongest lineup on the field against Myanmar, determined to secure a berth in the Monday gold-medal match.

Vietnam dominated ball possession in the opening minutes and put constant pressure on the Myanmar side with attacks from spearheads Mac Hong Quan and Nguyen Cong Phuong.

Hong Quan produced Vietnam’s first shot in the box four minutes into the match after dragging past two Myanmar defenders; however, his strike was not accurate enough to create any challenges for Myanmar goalkeeper Phyo Kyaw Zin.

Hong Quan squandered two solid chances to open the scoring for Vietnam at the 11th and 28th minutes as his final strikes proved too simple to beat Myanmar goalie Zin in the face-off.

Despite a stronger start, Vietnam lagged behind after 38 minutes as Ngoc Thang let his hand touch the ball in the box, handing Myanmar a penalty, which was successfully converted into an opener by Aung Si Thu.

The first half’s remainder saw Vietnam’s concerted efforts to equalise, however, the narrow 1-0 gap remained safe until the half-time whistle rang.

After the break, Vietnam maintained their pressure and constantly kept the ball on the Myanmar side.

Hong Quan missed another chance to score for Vietnam three minutes after the hour mark as his powerful header from Ngoc Hai’s precise right-wing pass went closely off horizontal bar.

Following waves of stormy attacks, the equaliser finally arrived for Vietnam in the 72nd minute with Huy Toan kicking the ball into Myanmar’s empty net after an unsuccessful attempt by his teammate Cong Phuong.

However, the joy did not last long for the men in white as just seven minutes later, Nay Lin Tun nailed the second goal and resulting in an aggregate 2-1 victory for Myanmar with a sudden strike that hit the leg of a Vietnamese player before going straight into the net.

With this victory, Myanmar will play the gold-medal match, scheduled for June 15, against the winner of the remaining semifinal between Thailand and Indonesia, while Vietnam will compete for the bronze medal against the loser in another match the same day.

(Source: nhandan.org.vn)