HA NOI — Viet Nam and Singapore earned their first points at the Viet Nam Football Federation's SONHA Cup yesterday after the two teams drew 1-1 at My Dinh Stadium in Ha Noi.
The host team followed a new game plan that differed significantly to their strategy against South Korea two days ago, when Viet Nam suffered a 2-0 defeat.
This time, the host team set the pace and control the ball most of the time, despite only being able to score once from a corner kick in the second half of the match.
Singapore were on the defensive but managed to score first, at the 26th minute.
The goal was thanks to a combination play between two imported players. Aleksandar Duric, a former Bosnia and Herzegovina citizen, took the ball to the box before passing it to Chinese-born Shi Jiayi, who shot the ball straight into the net.
Vietnamese goalkeeper Duong Hong Son got his fingers to the ball, but was unable to stop the powerful shot from close range.
The goal did not rally the Vietnamese players to immediately lift their game, with several good opportunities to equalise carelessly missed.
The situation for the host team seemed to get worse when the side lost striker Nguyen Viet Thang at the 31st minute due to an injury.
The second saw Viet Nam continue its attack, threatening Singapore's goal but unable to score.
Captain Phan Van Tai Em, replaced striker Sy Manh and halfback Nguyen Vu Phong helped rally the team intensify their assaults.
Tai Em could level the score for Viet Nam at the 76th minute after a corner kick. Tai Em took the ball after it bounced out of a chaotic penalty area, converting with a quick strike into the net.
For his efforts, Tai Em won the US$1,000 bonus from the tournament's sponsors for the first Vietnamese player to score.
Viet Nam and Singapore will face each other again at the coming Southeast Asian Football Federation Cup in December.
Earlier in the SONHA Cup, a clash between North Korea and South Korea also resulted in a 1-1 draw.
After two matches, South Korea rank on the top of the table with four points, North Korea follow with four points as well, losing out to South Korea on goal difference. Singapore and Viet Nam are third and fourth, respectively.
Viet Nam still have a chance to win the cup but only if they can score plenty of goals against North Korea who are considered the strongest defensive team of the tournament while South Korea lose to Singapore in the other game. — VNS
