HCMC – South Korea U-23 beat the Vietnamese national squad 2-0 in their opening game of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) Sonha Cup on Tuesday at My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi.
The two sides began the game with their strongest lineups. Vietnam began the match with attacks from both wings with Le Tan Tai on the right and Nguyen Vu Phong on the left.
The visitors, with height advantage, put more attacks from the start of the game in search of a goal and their players dominated the ball possession in the first half. The home side also created some scoring chances but the Korean side defense resiliently held out to keep a clean sheet.
The Korean missed all scoring chances in the first half though the Vietnamese players made many mistakes. The best after 34 minutes in the first half when Jeon Hyun Cheol’s kicks hit the goalpost.
After the break, Vietnamese coach Henrique Calisto replaced key players. Midfielders Tran Duy Quang, Nguyen Trong Hoang and Le Phuoc Tu replaced Nguyen Vu Phong, Nguyen Minh Phuong and Nguyen Minh Chau.
The change prompted the home side to launch more attacks toward the Korean goalmouth in the first minutes of the second half. However, the Vietnamese players just created some good chances.
The Vietnamese defenders continuously made many mistakes in the second half. Jung Woo Young had a good chance to open the score in the 63rd minute and the substitution easily beat goalkeeper Duong Hong Son in a free kick from outside the penalty box.
Jung Woo Young nearly scored again for the Korean side in the 78th minute when his free kick hit the cross bar before Kim Min Je finalized the game at 2-0 in the 90th minute.
In the earlier opening game, the North Koreans showed why they were favorites as they earned a 2-1 victory over Singapore in the last minutes despite Singapore opened the score in the first half.
The national football teams from Singapore, North Korea and hosts Vietnam together with the U23 team of South Korea are competing in the annual tournament. The tournament is considered the final test for both Vietnam and Singapore before the Southeast Asian championship/AFF Suzuki Cup 2010, which will be held in Vietnam and Indonesia from December 1 to 29.
Tomorrow’s matches at My Dinh National Stadium are North Korea vs. South Korea U23 at 5:00 p.m. and Vietnam vs. Singapore at 7:00 p.m.
The four teams are competing in a round-robin tournament, which will end in Hanoi on Saturday.
