U21 HAGL 2-2 U21 Vietnam (penalty shootout 3-2): Second time for the mountain town

The early final match of the 2015 International U21 Tournament between U21 Vietnam and U21 HAGL was very dramatic with exciting developments and the victory belonged to the team that was both better and luckier.

U21 HAGL proved that they deserved to be the team rated higher in this confrontation when they quickly forced their opponent into a defensive position right after the opening whistle. They were the team that started the game better and had no difficulty in controlling the game with fast, sharp play and very good coordination. With their strength, superiority in the game as well as ideas in attack, U21 HAGL scored a goal very early.

In the 10th minute, from a free kick outside the penalty area, the U21 HAGL players had a great arrangement and Cong Phuong was the one who made an accurate kick to open the score, leaving goalkeeper Quang Tuan helpless.

However, U21 Vietnam showed that they were not easy to play against. They did not attack much but occasionally had sharp counter-attacks and a tight defense. In the 36th minute, from a quick attack on the left wing, Lam Ti Phong had a technical shot, the ball hit the post and bounced out and Xuan Manh was in the right place to score the equalizer. Not stopping there, in the 44th minute, U21 HAGL's net shook for the second time with Lam Ti Phong's perfect shot after a very good free kick combination. 2-1 for U21 Vietnam was the result of the first 45 minutes.

For U21 Vietnam to take the lead, the difficulty will increase many times for U21 HAGL. That was clearly demonstrated in the second half when the red team retreated very deep into their own half and played a strict defense to prevent U21 HAGL's efforts to find an equalizer. This tactic was basically successful but somewhat negative because it created an unattractive one-sided game.

For U21 Vietnam, the important thing was to defend the victory. However, that determination only helped them keep their own net until the 78th minute. U21 HAGL held the ball and attacked a lot. They also had some chances but the attack was still quite poor and it was thanks to a moment of brilliance from Cong Phuong that the equalizer came.

In the 78th minute, Cong Phuong had a solo play among the red shirt defenders and fired a very good cross-angle shot that defeated goalkeeper Quang Tuan. 2-2 was also the final score after more than 90 minutes of play. The match was forced to go to a penalty shootout to determine the winner. At the 11m mark, the young HAGL players showed more courage when they successfully executed 3 times while U21 Vietnam only did the same thing 2 times. Victory once again belonged to the mountain town team and their right to enter the final can also be considered a worthy result.

GOAL

U21 HAGL: Cong Phuong (10')

U21 Vietnam: Xuan Manh (36'), Lam Ti Phong (44')

LINEUP

U.21 HAGL: Minh Hoang; Van Son, Dong Trieu, Thang Toan, Van Thanh; Minh Vuong, Tuan Anh, Xuan Truong, Kim Hung; Cong Phuong, Van Toan

U.21 Vietnam: Quang Tuan; Ngoc Hao, Nam Anh, Thanh Tin, Van Dung; Duy Manh, Xuan Manh, Hung Dung, Nhu Tuan, Lam Ti Phong; Pham Van Thanh

According to thethaovietnam.vn