Group B U21 Thanh Nien Newspaper Tournament: Hanoi T&T and SLNA enter semi-finals

Hanoi T&T scored fair-play points when they played seriously and won 3-2 against Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL), helping Song Lam Nghe An (SLNA) slip through the narrow door to be present in the semi-finals of the U.21 Thanh Nien Newspaper tournament thanks to a 3-0 victory against Vinh Long.

Hanoi T&T (yellow shirt) blocked HAGL's entry into the semi-finals - Photo: Kha Hoa

In group B, with 2 wins in hand, Hanoi T&T is 99% likely to enter the semi-finals and as long as they don't lose too heavily, they will still be present in the semi-finals.

This also causes a lot of worries that the capital team will "give up" because if they lose to HAGL with a 1-goal difference, both will go hand in hand to continue.

However, on the Military Zone 9 field, Coach Pham Minh Duc showed his seriousness, directing his players to compete fairly against HAGL who were desperate for points.

With superior experience, Hanoi T&T played better and easily scored 2 goals in the 16th and 50th minutes by Pham Van Thanh and Ngan Van Dai (the 3rd goal since the beginning of the tournament).

However, from the moment midfielder Duc Huy got hurt and had to leave the field, Hanoi T&T started to face difficulties when HAGL strongly rose up and equalized 2-2 in the 73rd minute after Trieu Viet Hung scored in the 73rd minute.

In the remaining minutes of the match, HAGL tried every way to penetrate the defense of Hanoi T&T, while many people thought of a pre-prepared scenario of a 3-2 victory for HAGL.

However, with their own strength, Hanoi T&T scored the decisive goal in the 90+3 minute by Tran Van Kien, helping to dispel all doubts that they would lose "lightly" to quickly eliminate rival SLNA.

More importantly, that victory was an affirmation of the fair-play style of coach Pham Minh Duc and his team, helping to honor the "green-clean-beautiful" tradition of the U.21 Thanh Nien Newspaper tournament.

With that victory, Hanoi T&T firmly secured the top spot in Group B, and opened the door to the semi-finals for SLNA, who defeated Vinh Long 3-0 thanks to a double from striker Ho Phuc Tinh and young striker Vo Ly.

This is the match where Olympic midfielder Tran Phi Son continues to leave a strong mark when he creates all 3 goals for SLNA. Looking back, the number 10 player with his exciting footwork has directed and left a big mark on all 5 goals up to this point of the Nghe team.

Thus, at the end of the group stage, Hanoi T&T ranked first in Group B will meet the second team in Group A, Dong Thap, while the first team in Group A, SHB.Da Nang, will have a fiery battle with SLNA in the Central derby in the semi-finals.

According to Thanhnien.com.vn