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Nerves of steel: Navibank Sai Gon players celebrate after their penalty shootout victory over Becamex Binh Duong. Navibank won 10-9 to book a semi-final berth in the National Cup which will be held on August 10. — VNA/VNS Photo |
Coach Mai Duc Chung of Navibank Sai Gon had to play in defence for his team due to a number of injuries and suspensions.
The first half saw Binh Duong dominate on home turf with foreign trio Kubheka Philani, Leandro Da Luz and Joseph Obina all testing Navibank goalie Phan Van Santos. Philani opened the scoring in the 26th minute.
However, Navibank seemed to wake up in the second half and secured an equaliser in the 70th minute through Elokan Endene who stole past the Binh Duong defence to score.
Coach Nunes R. Manuel of Binh Duong made several substitutions to try and grab a late winner and ended the match playing four up front, but to no avail.
In the shootout, Navibank's players all converted there spot kicks successfully while Leandro, who signed for Binh Duong as part of a US$700,000 transfer, missed.
"I'm really satisfied with the result and the way my players did today. We were missing several key members of our team and Binh Duong are very strong. It is a big success which will encourage us for the rest of the season but we still need more time to grow, said Chung.
His team will meet Thanh Hoa in the semi-finals. Thanh Hoa also made it to the final four after beating Ninh Binh 3-1 in a penalty shootout. Their match finished 1-1 after 90 minutes.
In other games, former V-League champions Song lam Nghe An trounced Sai Gon Xuan Thanh 4-2 and are to play Hoang Anh Gia Lai in the next round on August 10.
Hoang Anh Gia Lai earlier won 3-1 against Khatoco Khanh Hoa in the fourth quarter-final match in Nha Trang. — VNS
