Conceding a goal in extra time, U23 Vietnam regretfully lost 2 points

Compared to the final match of the men's football at the 31st Sea Games, both U23 Vietnam and U23 Thailand have had major changes in terms of personnel. In addition to the appearance of two new captains, Coach Gong Oh-kyun and Coach Worrawoot Srimaka, the forces of the two teams have also changed a lot.

Especially before entering this match, on the U23 Vietnam side, a series of players had health problems. Therefore, coach Gong Oh-kyun was forced to remove some key players from the starting lineup, typically Nguyen Thanh Binh, Tran Van Cong and Ly Cong Hoang Anh.

U23 Vietnam plays confidently. Photo: Internet

In contrast to the situation of U23 Vietnam, U23 Thailand has the strongest squad. Besides the return of "Thai football prodigy" Suphanat Mueanta, coach Worrawoot Srimaka also has the services of Thai-origin players such as Jonathan Khemdee and Nicholas Mickelson.

Despite being severely depleted, U23 Vietnam surprisingly scored the opening goal. At the 17th second, Phan Tuan Tai made a decisive long-range shot, the ball hit central defender Jonathan Khemdee, out of the reach of goalkeeper Kiadthiphon Udon and went straight into the net.

Having the lead, the U23 Vietnam players were even more confident. Not only did they not rush back to defend to preserve the score, but Coach Gong Oh-kyun's students also frequently launched dangerous attacks towards the opponent's goal. Unfortunately, there was no second goal for U23 Vietnam.

On the opposite side of the field, the early loss affected the fighting spirit of the Thai U23 players. In desperation, coach Worrawoot Srimaka had to make two substitutions before the 30th minute of the match. And one of the two players entering the field for the Thai U23 team was Ben Davis, who is playing in England for Oxford United.

In the 34th minute, U23 Thailand equalized the score 1 - 1 fromGoalkeeper Nguyen Van Toan made a mistake in handling the ball from a long shot by midfielder Ben Davis. From that same situation, the goalkeeper from Hai Phong had to leave the field due to injury to make way for Quan Van Chuan. The first half ended without any more goals being scored.

Entering the second half, Coach Gong Oh-kyun sent Nguyen Van Tung, Vo Dinh Lam, Nguyen Hai Long and Huynh Cong Den onto the field. However, these adjustments by Coach Gong Oh-kyun still could not help U23 Vietnam improve the game when U23 Thailand were the ones who played more dominantly.

Tuan Tai celebrates his goal with his teammates. Photo:You Tan.

While the battle was going on in a stalemate,U23 Vietnamsurprisingly scored the second goal, thanks to a great goal from substitute striker Nguyen Van Tung, in the 73rd minute. The player who passed the ball for Nguyen Van Tung to volley into the net of goalkeeper Kiadthiphon Udon was Phan Tuan Tai.

In the remaining minutes, U23 Thailand tried to rise up to find an equalizer. The efforts of the opposing team were also rewarded with a goal by Suphanat Mueanta in the 90 + 2 minute. This was also the last goal of the match. The 2-2 draw was reasonable given the performance of the two teams in the 90 minutes of competition.

Thus, with 1 point earned in the opening match, U23 Vietnam and U23 Thailand are temporarily in 2nd place, behind U23 Korea, the team that won 4-1 against U23 Malaysia. According to the match schedule, coach Gong Oh-kyun and his team will compete with U23 Korea on June 5.

Starting lineup:

U23 Vietnam: Nguyen Van Toan, Luong Duy Cuong, Tien Long, Bui Hoang Viet Anh, Phan Tuan Tai, Le Van Do, Khuat Van Khang, Tran Van Trung, Le Minh Binh, Nguyen Van Truong, Nham Manh Dung.

U23 Thailand: Kiadthiphon, Suphanat, Achitpol, Ekanit, Thanawat, Chayapiat, Channarong, Chatmongkol, Khemdee, Kaman, Mickelson.