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| Vietnam’s midfielder Nguyen Trong Hoang (L) challenges for the ball with a Myanmar player during their AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 match at My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi on Thursday - Photo: TTXVN |
Vietnam faced some disadvantages when star striker Le Cong Vinh, former star striker Pham Van Quyen and midfielder Mai Tien Thanh skipped the tournament because of injury while Nguyen Viet Thang, a first-choice striker of head coach Henrique Calisto, also did not even make the list.
Though the Vietnamese team started the tournament with their injury-hit squad, Calisto believed in the first win against Myanmar.
Backed by the enthusiastic support from local spectators, Vietnamese players began in high spirit and were very confident from the beginning while Myanmar played defensively and relied on rare counter attacks.
The defending champions had plenty of possession and goal-scoring opportunities but the local spectators had to wait until the 12th minute when striker Nguyen Anh Duc opened the score with an unstoppable kick in the penalty area.
Myanmar surprisingly equalized just three minutes later when Aung scored for his team with a sudden kick in a rapid attack. Captain Nguyen Minh Phuong helped the home side advance in the 30th minute from the free kick.
Despite strong attacks, Vietnamese players also created some scoring chances in the first half but their players also lost all the chances, leaving the score at 2-1 upon the referee’s whistle at the end of the first half.
The home side continuously dominated the ball possession in the second half while Myanmar organized attacks on Vietnamese defending lines. However, coach Tin Myint Aung’s defenders made many serious mistakes.
The Vietnamese forwarders exploited the mistakes from their opponents and midfielder Le Tan Tai netted for his team in the 55th minute after receiving the ball from midfielder Pham Thanh Luong in the right wing.
The local fans continuously celebrated the victory just 10 minutes later when striker Nguyen Anh Duc scored his second goal with a header after receiving the comfortable cross from midfielder Nguyen Vu Phong.
With an excellent performance, substitute Nguyen Trong Hoang, who replaced Le Tan Tai in the 71st minute, netted for his team in the 74th minute then he easily defeated Myanmar goalie Kyaw Zin Htet in the 82nd minute with a kick inside the penalty box.
Midfielder Nguyen Vu Phong finalized the game at 7-1 in the injury time, giving his team the first victory in the group competition.
Meanwhile, underdogs Philippines shocked powerhouse Singapore with a 1-1 draw in their opener in Group B after minnows Laos surprisingly held a 2-2 draw with three-time champions Thailand in their AFF Suzuki Cup Group A opener on Wednesday.
Coach Radojko Abramovic’s players failed to open the fire in the first half though the Singaporeans began with experienced players including two naturalized players, Aleksandar Duric and Daniel Bennett in their line-up.
Despite Singapore controlling majority of the possession, their forwarders missed all scoring chances while the lucky Philippines held out to keep a clean sheet throughout the first half.
The Singaporeans finally broke the deadlock in the second half when Aleksandar Duric opened the score with a fine header from Noh Alam Shah's cross.
Despite strong attacks, the Lions also created some scoring chances in the second half but their players also lost all the chances while Chris Greatwitch became a hero as he equalized in the injury time to share the point for the Philippines side.
Co-host Vietnam topped the standings of Group B with three points from the first win, while Singapore and the Philippines have one point each and Myanmar have no point.
Group B is being staged in Hanoi and features Vietnam, Singapore, Myanmar and the Philippines. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals.
Singapore next play Myanmar in their second Group B match on Sunday while Vietnam meet the Philippines on same day.
