Vinh City Youth entered the final after defeating Hoang Mai Youth on penalties.

The two teams entered the field to complete match procedures. Photo: Duc Anh

Entering the semi-final match of the junior age group this afternoon (June 14), both Vinh City and Hoang Mai fielded their strongest squads. However, Vinh City Youth Team, with the top spot in Group A - a group with 5 teams, including the defending champion Do Luong, is still considered to be better than Hoang Mai Youth Team.

On the opposite side, Thieu Nien Hoang Mai, although in second place in Group B before entering the semi-finals, showed that they are not an easy opponent to underestimate when in the 2022 season, they won the runner-up position after losing to Thieu Nien Do Luong in the final match. And with the encouragement from former national player Le Cong Vinh before entering the tournament, they are full of determination to reach the final match for the second consecutive season.

Due to the importance of the semi-final, the two teams played quite closely. Photo: Duc Anh

With the nature of a decisive match, when the referee Phan Truong An blew the starting whistle, the two teams showed a relatively tense game. In a day of tight competition, especially in defense, the attacking players had almost no room to perform. Besides, it seemed that after days of continuous competition, the physical strength of the young players had been worn down, significantly affecting the tempo of the match. Therefore, the midfield line could only seek luck with long-range shots from the halfway line. The first half ended without any goals scored. Both teams were temporarily satisfied with the 0-0 result when entering the break.

Youngster Hoang Mai (in white shirt) has really faced a strong team since the beginning of the tournament. Photo: Duc Anh

In the second half, the coaching staff of both teams made tactical adjustments. If Vinh City Youth chose to attack from the two wings, then took advantage of the speed of the striker to cut in and score, then on Hoang Mai Youth's side, goalkeeper Le Sy Duy Khanh took advantage of long, powerful kicks into the opponent's penalty area for the striker to press.

The clearest chance of the second half went to Vinh City. In the 29th minute, player wearing the number 7 jersey Nguyen Manh Phu unleashed a powerful long-range shot. The Hoang Mai goalkeeper was forced to punch the ball away, but unfortunately no player in red jersey was able to rush in to kick the ball back.

Goalkeeper Ngo Xuan Phong of Vinh City Youth Team had reasonable moves in and out. Photo: Duc Anh

Just 1 minute later, it was Hoang Mai players' turn to receive a free kick on the right side of the Vinh City Youth goal. Player wearing the number 7 shirt, Vu Ngoc Chung, made a very technical curling shot, sending the ball right into the junction between the crossbar and the vertical post of the Vinh City goal.

After the near defeat, Vinh City Youth played more solidly, not daring to attack too high. The highlight of the second half was the relatively reasonable entry and exit of the goalkeepers on both teams.

With time running out in the second half, the coaches on the sidelines asked their players to slow down. At the end of regulation time, the two teams were tied 0-0, forcing a penalty shootout to decide the winner.

The joy of Vinh City Youth players and fans after winning tickets to the finals. Photo: Duc Anh

In the first kick, the Vinh Youth player was allowed to kick first and succeeded, while the Hoang Mai player missed. In the following kicks, the players of both teams were successful.

The tension was pushed to its peak when in the 5th round of kicks, player wearing jersey number 13 on the Vinh City Youth side, Nguyen Bao Tin, kicked the ball too softly, hitting the position of goalkeeper Hoang Mai. The score was now 4-3, when Hoang Mai had 1 round of kicks left. If they were successful in the last round of kicks, Hoang Mai Youth would tie the score. However, under too much pressure, player wearing jersey number 3 Nguyen Ba Dang on the Hoang Mai side missed his shot.

Falling at the threshold of heaven, Thieu Nien Hoang Mai had to watch his opponents from the Red City enter the final match.