Defeating Thailand, U15 Vietnam won the Southeast Asian championship

(Baonghean.vn) – Despite having to play on the opponent's field, U15 Vietnam stood firm against U15 Thailand throughout the 80 minutes of official play.

To reach the final of the 2017 Southeast Asian U15 Football Championship, U15 Vietnam has gone through a very convincing journey. In the group stage, U15 Vietnam defeated Cambodia, Brunei, Philippines, Malaysia and East Timor. Despite meeting Australia in the semi-finals, coach Vu Hong Viet's students still overcame this very strong opponent with a score of 2-0. Meanwhile, U15 Thailand was not far behind when they defeated Malaysia in the semi-finals and maintained a perfect winning record before meeting Vietnam in the final.

After the opening whistle, coach Vu Hong Viet's players entered the game with a cautious attitude, proactively giving the game to the home team. In the first few minutes, Thailand played somewhat dominantly, but the opportunities they created were all neutralized by the defense led by captain Vu Tien Long.

Captain Tien Long had an extremely dedicated and effective day of competition - Photo: PV

The opportunity for U15 Vietnam really came in the 15th and 22nd minutes. First, the Thai U15 goalkeeper went up high, Vo Nguyen Hoang escaped and shot the ball past the home team's goal post. Then Tran Thanh Tu had a chance to shoot in the penalty area without being marked, but unfortunately the player wearing the number 16 shirt shot the ball wide of the post at close range.

Overall, coach Vu Hong Viet's players controlled the ball better than their opponents. Meanwhile, U15 Thailand no longer played as aggressively as in the first minutes. However, in the final minutes of the second half, the goal of U15 Vietnam was shaken after a corner kick from U15 Thailand. Fortunately, goalkeeper Duy Dung was able to catch the ball after the chaotic situation.

The first half of the 2017 Southeast Asian U15 final between U15 Vietnam and U15 Thailand ended without either team scoring a goal. It was 40 minutes of hard work by the U15 Vietnam defense and delicious opportunities were missed by the strikers above like Nguyen Hoang and Minh Dan.

The red shirt players had a successful match day against strong opponents Thailand - Photo: FA Thailand

In the second half, U15 Vietnam suffered a big loss when captain Tien Long had to leave the field due to an injury. However, U15 Vietnam did not face many difficulties against the attacks on the right wing of the opponent. In that context, coach Vu Hong Viet strengthened the defense by sending Quang Truong to replace Nhat Minh. In addition, midfielder Ngo Quang Thuan was also sent on the field by the U15 Vietnam coaching board to replace Doan Chi Bao.

In the 65th minute, U15 Thailand was awarded a free kick outside the penalty area, on the right wing. Player Thongbai took a tricky shot with great intention, the ball went around the red shirt barrier and then missed Duy Dung's goal post.

During the remaining time of the match, the two teams continued to play tit for tat, with the game being quite tight, causing the final match to have no goals to break the deadlock. Before the official match time, Nguyen The Hung had a bold shot from more than 30m away, but goalkeeper Taweesri easily caught it. However, the match still ended without any goals.

In the nerve-wracking Pently shootout, goalkeeper Duy Dung of U15 Vietnam made excellent saves from 2 shots from the opponent, thereby contributing greatly to the 4-2 victory on the 11m mark. At the same time, U15 Vietnam officially became the champion of the 2017 Southeast Asian U15 Football Championship right in Thailand. If they had been more precise in their finishing situations, U15 Vietnam could have completely brought the match to an end after 80 minutes of play. However, this championship is very worthy for the spirit and determination of coach Vu Hong Viet and his team.

Trung Kien