The journey to the final of 2 SLNA youth teams
(Baonghean.vn) - Although only participating in the tournament for the purpose of competition, U12 SLNA played very well against senior teams to create a unique final match with U13 SLNA of the National Youth-Youth Tournament so far.
The final round of the 2019 National Youth Football Tournament was held in Nghe An from July 5-16. Including the 12 best teams of the qualifying round: Song Lam Nghe An, SLF Thanh Vinh (U12 SLNA), Thai Binh, Phu Yen, Saigon, Hanoi, Hanoi Club, Dong Thap, SHB Da Nang, Binh Phuoc, Ho Chi Minh City and PVF. Divided into 3 groups.
Table A: U13 SLNA, U13 Hanoi, U13 Saigon FC and U13 Phu Yen
Table B:U12 SLNA, U13 Thai Binh, U13 SHB Da Nang and U13 Dong Thap
Table C:U13 Hanoi, U13 Binh Phuoc, U13 Ho Chi Minh City and U13 PVF.
In the opening match of the group stage, while the U12 juniors had a smooth start with a big 5-0 victory over U13 Thai Binh, in the opening match of the tournament, U13 SLNA could not win against the young players of U13 Hanoi.
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| Joining for the purpose of competition, U12 SLNA has continuously created surprises. Photo: Document |
However, the defending champions managed to return with an impressive performance against U13 Saigon FC to end the second round with a 5-0 victory while the juniors U12 SLNA had to accept a regrettable 0-1 defeat against U13 Dong Thap.
In the decisive match to reach the quarter-finals, U12 SLNA excellently defeated U13 SHB Da Nang to get 6 points like their opponent and U13 Dong Thap but with a better goal difference, they will enter the round of 8 as the first team in Group B. The senior U13 team immediately after that also won 3-0 against Phu Yen to enter the quarter-finals with the juniors with the same status as the first team in Group A.
In the quarter-finals, U12 SLNA played against their seniors against U13 Saigon and played very well to qualify for the semi-finals with a minimal victory. Not wanting to be outdone by their juniors, Phung Van Nam, Pham Quoc Khanh, Nguyen Dinh Cuong and Nguyen Trong Son together created a rain of goals against U13 Hanoi to enter the round of 4 after a 5-0 victory over the capital's representative.
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| U13 SLNA is not inferior to the younger generation when entering the semi-finals with an undefeated record. Photo: Document |
The first semi-final match took place between U12 SLNA and U13 PVF. Facing a famous youth football training center that was 1 year younger than their opponent, Coach Pham Van Hao's students played confidently and fairly.
And after getting a surprising goal from Tran Quoc Hoa, U12 SLNA successfully maintained the fragile gap to officially go to the final match.
Previously, coach Pham Van Hao's team only entered this tournament for the purpose of competition, but the current results have made many fans both happy and proud of SLNA's youth training work.
In the other semi-final, U13 SLNA faced young players from Da Nang when this team entered the round of 4 with a penalty shootout victory with a record score of a shootout: 16-15.
Facing a weaker opponent, U13 SLNA played confidently on the attack but conceded the first goal from a set piece and the excellence of the U13 Da Nang goalkeeper helped the Han River team maintain this score until the end of the first half.
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| The joy of the young players of Nghe An when they successfully overcame difficulties to enter the final match was an internal conversation. Photo: Archive |
Although there were many more dangerous opportunities created afterwards, the score of 2-1 remained the same and U13 SLNA officially entered the final match with an undefeated record.
The final match between U13 and U12 SLNA will take place at 5pm today (July 15) at Vinh Stadium. This is a final match that brings great pride to those who love Nghe An football, and is also a match that reaffirms the position of SLNA youth training after the unfortunate failures of the U17 and U19 teams in previous youth tournaments.