U19 HAGL Arsenal JMG advance thanks to draw

Despite losing 1-2 to U21 Sydney, coach Guillaume Graechen and his team still won the right to enter the semi-finals with U21 Malaysia thanks to a lucky draw, at the U21 International Tournament on the afternoon of October 23.

The draw was held in the press room, right after the match at Can Tho Stadium. The three coaches representing their teams picked small round balls, inside of which were numbers that would indicate the order of the team in the group. Coach Graechen picked number 2, meaning that the HAGL Arsenal JMG Academy team finished the group stage in second place. Meanwhile, the coach of U21 Malaysia picked number 1, while the coach of U21 Australia got the ball with number 3, so they were eliminated from the tournament.

This was an emotional afternoon for the HAGL Arsenal JMG Academy and its fans. Before that, they had to live in anxiety, when the home team suffered a 1-2 defeat against U21 Sydney. This result left all three teams in this group with the same three points and a goal difference of 0, as coach Graechen's team won 2-1 against U21 Malaysia in the previous match - the team had the same result against U21 Sydney in the opening match.

Coach Graechen (right) holds up the lucky ticket. Photo: Duc Dong.

Going into this afternoon’s match, HAGL Academy held the right to self-determination, as a draw was enough to advance to the top of the table. That was the reason why they entered the match slowly, despite the enthusiasm of tens of thousands of spectators sitting almost full of Can Tho Stadium.

Meanwhile, despite having to win at all costs, U21 Sydney were not in a hurry to attack. They understood the home team's advantage in counter-attacks, and they themselves intended to take advantage of their physical endurance and height advantage to find opportunities later in the match or in set pieces and aerial combat situations.

The first half therefore took place at a slow pace, with not many opportunities for the two teams to attack each other's goal. The most notable situation created by HAGL Academy was a direct free kick by Luong Xuan Truong in the 40th minute that went just wide of the post. About five minutes earlier, Blackwood had escaped into the penalty area but had shot gently right at the position of goalkeeper Van Tien.

Cong Phuong and his teammates (left) had a difficult match. Photo: Duc Dong.

After the break, the atmosphere became much more exciting. HAGL Academy had the first chance with Thanh Tung's familiar escape down the right wing and finish, but it was not good enough to score in the 47th minute. Just one minute later, U21 Sydney opened the scoring, when John Scott quickly kicked after a fumble in the home team's 5m50 area, from a long-range free kick by his teammate.

The gap could have been multiplied for the team from the land of kangaroos if a player in blue had successfully finished at close range, after goalkeeper Van Tien failed to push the ball out of his reach.

In a dangerous situation, the brilliance of individuals is what can bring about a breakthrough. And that happened in the 55th minute, in a not-so-bright match for HAGL Academy. Luong Xuan Truong showed his sharp vision with a through ball, while Van Toan showed his acumen with a run into the penalty area to score the equalizer 1-1.

Teammates rushed to share joy with Van Toan. Photo: Duc Dong.

One point was enough to advance, so Coach Graechen's players slowed down. The French coach was even cautious in taking Van Toan off the field in the 79th minute to make way for central defender Dong Trieu to strengthen the defense.

However, the HAGL Academy's net still could not avoid being blown up. In the 85th minute, Australian defender Ksor, under pressure from the opponent, headed the ball back, without observing goalkeeper Van Tien rushing forward, accidentally scoring an own goal. Thanks to that, U21 Sydney's chance to advance was revived, while the home team, who had been at ease, had to leave their fate to the god of luck. And that god came during the draw ceremony, bringing the number 2 that coach Graechen had drawn.

According to VnExpress.net