Squandering opportunities, U17 Song Lam Nghe An sadly stopped at the semi-finals

Before entering the semi-finals, U17 Song Lam Nghe An won all the matches in the 2023 National U17 Finals. The Nghe team scored 16 goals and did not concede any. Meanwhile, U17 Viettel also did the same. Therefore, this confrontation between the two teams is predicted to be quite balanced.

Despite creating many opportunities in front of Viettel's goal, U17 Song Lam Nghe An had to accept defeat. Photo: Chung Le

However, entering the match, U17 Song Lam Nghe An entered the match with confidence and deployed a variety of attacks. The situations of attacking the opponent's center back and defender were often used by U17 Song Lam Nghe An and caused difficulties for U17 Viettel.

In the 17th minute, from an attack on the left wing, the U17 Song Lam Nghe An strikers sent the ball into the middle of the opponent's goal. Viettel's center-back Tien Dat could not control the situation and almost scored an own goal. However, fortunately for the army team, goalkeeper Anh Chien reacted quickly to neutralize the shot.

In the following minutes, U17 Song Lam Nghe An continuously created attacks on the opponent's goal, but they could not score against U17 Viettel.

Trong Son missed many opportunities to score for U17 Song Lam Nghe An. Photo: Chung Le

And the cruel rule of football was present in this match, U17 Song Lam Nghe An attacked a lot but could not score and they had to pay the price when Dang Thanh Binh opened the score for U17 Viettel in the 35th minute of the match. From a set piece free kick on the left wing, Cong Phuong hung the ball to the near post, the defender of Song Lam Nghe An made a mistake when he did not closely mark Thanh Binh, allowing this player to comfortably head the ball to break the deadlock.

Entering the second half, U17 Song Lam Nghe An focused all their efforts on the attack with the determination to restore the balance of the match. Coach Phan Tien Hoai asked his players to deploy the ball more on the right wing where Le Dinh Long Vu appeared. With his proven qualities, the U17 National player often got past the opposing defenders and gave his teammates the opportunity to approach Luong Anh Chien's goal. The situation that made many Nghe An spectators regret came in the 55th minute of the match. From Long Vu's breakthrough on the right wing, the ball was brought close to the bottom of the line. The midfielder wearing the number 16 shirt made a difficult cross inside. However, Trong Tuan's touch was inaccurate, missing the opportunity to equalize the score for U17 Song Lam Nghe An.

Less than 2 minutes later, U17 Song Lam Nghe An continued to attack on the right wing, Long Vu handled the ball very delicately before passing the ball to Trong Tuan. The captain of U17 Song Lam Nghe An made a reasonable pass to Trong Son right in front of the opponent's goal. In an open position, the midfielder wearing shirt number 19 missed the post.

To limit the attacking power of U17 Song Lam Nghe An, U17 Viettel did not hesitate to tackle fiercely. Photo: Chung Le

In this match, when U17 Song Lam Nghe An was behind, they could not keep their composure. The Nghe An striker's moves were often hasty, or not as smooth and precise as in previous matches. The situation that most clearly demonstrated this came in the 80th minute, when Trong Son used his speed to get past 3 Viettel defenders, but his final push was too long and could not trouble goalkeeper Anh Chien.

In the 85th minute, it seemed like the score had been leveled for U17 Song Lam Nghe An when this team was awarded a penalty. However, in the penalty shootout, Trong Son's shot was too weak and could not beat goalkeeper Anh Chien.

In the final minutes of the match, U17 Hanoi deployed a “double-decker bus” in front of their goal to preserve the victory. Therefore, U17 Song Lam Nghe An could not create more opportunities in front of the opponent’s goal.

Thus, with a 0-1 loss to U17 Viettel, U17 Song Lam Nghe An ended their dream of winning the Gold Cup in the 2023 season.

Duc Anh