Losing the second leg, Hanoi T&T stops at AFC Cup
Despite having impressive performances at times, in the end, HN T&T still had to accept a 0-2 defeat against Arbil.
Losing 0-1 in the first leg right at Hang Day Stadium, the chance for Hanoi T&T to come back against Arbil in the second leg is not high even though they do not have to play on their opponent's field (the second leg will take place in Lebanon due to political instability in Iraq).
In the first minutes of the match, Arbil took the initiative to play slowly, ensuring stability on the home field and giving the game to Hanoi T&T. Therefore, the Vietnamese team held the ball more than the opponent.
However, every time the ball was deployed close to Arbil's goal, the opposing team quickly approached, leaving T&T players with no space or time to handle it. It was not until the 16th minute that coach Phan Thanh Hung's team had their first shot when Van Quyet launched a signature curling shot, but Arbil goalkeeper Jalal was alert in time.
In the following minutes, the game situation did not change, T&T still controlled the game on the field and changed many approaches to the opponent's goal, but Arbil's defense still played with great concentration and did not create any gaps.
In such a deadlocked match, it seemed like the first half would end without any notable situations, but T&T suddenly had a golden opportunity in the 42nd minute. A moment of hesitation from the opposing team's defender created amuscleSamson had the opportunity to dribble straight from the wing and unleash a dangerous shot into the top corner, forcing goalkeeper Jalal to jump up to save the goal. The first half ended without any goals being scored.
In the second half, the game did not change much, Arbil still played slowly while T&T seemed relatively stuck in approaching the opponent's goal.
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| T&T is completely helpless against Arbil (Photo: Minh Hoang) |
From the middle of the second half, Arbil suddenly had some quick counter-attacks, causing some confusion for the T&T defense. In the 58th minute, from an Arbil player's dribble, the ball touched Van Bien's hand in the penalty area and the referee awarded the home team a penalty. From the 11m mark, Amjed Radhi scored the opening goal of the match.
After the goal, the spirit of T&T players clearly dropped, they could no longer hold the ball and organize attacks like before. Coach Phan Thanh Hung himself also clearly showed his decision to give up when he sent two young players, Van Thanh and Ngoc Duc, to replace Gonzalo and Van Bien.
This made the following minutes of the match very boring. The home team did not want to score more goals while the away team almost did not have enough strength to create dangerous attacks.
The game continued to flow towards the final minutes of the match when Arbil suddenly accelerated and scored the second goal in the 88th minute. Substitute Salkor made a strong sprint and then ran down to beat goalkeeper Van Cong, further widening the gap in the match.
Losing the second leg 0-2, T&T lost to Arbil with a total score of 0-3 and followed Vissai Ninh Binh to say goodbye to this year's AFC Cup from the quarter-finals.
Starting lineup:
Arbil:Jalal, Hardi, Ali, Amjed, Luay (C), Ahmed, Nabeel, Mohammed, Saad, Victor, Nadim.
T&T:Van Cong, Van Bien, Cyrus, Hong Tien, Duy Khanh, Van Hieu, Van Quyet, Thanh Luong, Ngoc Duy, Samson, Gonzalo.
According to VOV