Playing in front of the cheering crowd in Can Tho in the final match against Thailand U21 at 6 PM, Cong Phuong scored two consecutive goals, helping HAGL U19 win 3-0.

Winning the 2014 International U21 Tournament was a well-deserved reward for Cong Phuong and his teammates after a year of tireless effort and relentless pursuit of titles. Photo: Duc Dong.

Cong Phuong and his teammates

HAGL U19 continued their extremely convincing form, defeating Thailand U21 3-0 to win the 2014 International U21 Football Tournament, thus bringing home the first title for the first batch of players from the HAGL Arsenal JMG Academy. Similar to their familiar performances in all previous matches, Coach Graechen's players started with great enthusiasm and quickly pushed Thailand U21 into a difficult defensive position. HAGL U19 players continuously created pressure.

In the 7th minute, Xuan Truong unleashed a decisive long-range shot, but the ball went over the crossbar. Six minutes later, Cong Phuong confidently dribbled past a large number of Thai defenders, forcing them to commit a foul. From the penalty spot, Van Son made no mistake to open the scoring for U19 HAGL.

The opening goal further energized Cong Phuong, Tuan Anh, and their teammates. The U19 HAGL captain repeatedly put the U21 Thailand defense on high alert with his skillful dribbling.

Meanwhile, Van Toan, Thanh Tung, and Hong Duy were also ready to explode with bursts of speed, while the rhythmic play of Tuan Anh and Xuan Truong in the midfield gave U19 HAGL a complete advantage in controlling the game. If there was anything regrettable after Coach Graechen's players' performance in the first half, it was the injury to center-back Dong Trieu in the 40th minute. Having only returned for two matches, the pain of the player from Quang Nam showed signs of recurrence, and he was forced to leave the field, making way for K'sor Uc.

In the second half, the U19 HAGL players continued their dominant performance, leaving the U21 Thailand team with no choice but to resort to an aggressive style of play with numerous fouls, heating up the match with several clashes between players from both teams. The pressure to find an equalizer forced U21 Thailand to push their formation higher instead of their defensive strategy from the first half, but their attacks lacked sharpness and relied mainly on their physical and stamina advantage, similar to many other opponents U19 HAGL had faced in the tournament.

In the 74th minute, the moment many fans had been waiting for arrived: Cong Phuong dribbled the ball, combined with Van Toan with a one-touch pass, and fired the ball into the net against Thailand. Everything unfolded perfectly, causing the Can Tho stadium to erupt in cheers from the fans. With nothing left to lose, the U21 Thailand players surged into the U19 HAGL half, but were powerless against the excellent ball control of Coach Graechen's players. Had they capitalized on their opportunities better, Cong Phuong and Van Toan should have scored two or three more goals, not just the one by the U19 HAGL captain to seal a 3-0 victory for Coach Graechen's team. It was an outstanding performance from the U19 HAGL players, and they showed they fully deserved to win the 2014 International U21 Football Tournament.

Source: Zing News; VnExpress.net