U21 HAGL comes from behind to beat their rivals for a semi-final spot.

Twice trailing, the defending champions managed to come back and win 4-3 against U21 Myanmar, securing their place in the semi-finals of the 2015 International U21 Tournament.

In the seventh minute, U21 Myanmar opened the scoring after a series of attacks on the U21 HAGL goal. Receiving the ball from a teammate's through pass, Yan Naing Oo unleashed a diagonal shot. The ball hit the post before finding its way to Zaw Hein. The quick and decisive strike from the Myanmar player sent the defending champions' net surging.

Shortly afterwards, from a long pass by Xuan Truong, Cong Phuong raced down the wing, chipped the ball over goalkeeper Thitsar Min, and headed it in to equalize 1-1. In this situation, Van Toan was in an offside position, but the U21 HAGL striker signaled that he was not involved in the play. The goal showcased Cong Phuong's technical skill and composure, even though the U21 Myanmar goalkeeper rushed out very quickly.

Cong Phuong and Van Toan celebrate the equalizer. Photo: Duc Dong.

After scoring the equalizer, U21 HAGL continuously launched attacks and created many good scoring opportunities, such as Dong Trieu's header that went wide of the post and Thanh Tung's shot. In their determination to defend their goal, many U21 Myanmar players played roughly, causing numerous strong collisions and receiving several yellow cards.

Surprise struck again when the visiting team took the lead 2-1 in the 35th minute. From a simple attack, the ball was crossed to Mg Mg Lwin. Despite being quite far from the goal, the Myanmar U21 striker still managed a powerful header that went past goalkeeper Van Tien.

But just two minutes later, from another long pass by Tuan Anh, Van Toan dribbled past goalkeeper Thitsar Min and shot the ball. Although the U21 Myanmar defender managed to stretch out to block it, in the rebound immediately afterwards, Van Toan gave the opponent no further chance to stop it.

Despite falling behind twice, U21 HAGL staged a remarkable comeback to win 4-3. Photo: Duc Dong.

In the second half, U21 HAGL took the lead thanks to an own goal by a Myanmar defender. The ball, from a cross from the left wing by Kim Hung, deflected off Thein Zaw, changing direction and leaving goalkeeper Thitsar Min helpless. Not stopping there, in the 83rd minute, substitute Minh Vuong scored a beautiful free-kick to make it 4-2. Normally, from favorable angles, the trio of Tuan Anh, Xuan Truong, and Cong Phuong are the ones responsible for taking free kicks. But Minh Vuong surprised the U21 Myanmar defense with a quick run-up and shot.

At this point, the atmosphere in the stands of Thong Nhat Stadium became very lively. This only subsided slightly when Myanmar scored a goal to narrow the gap. Taking advantage of a mistake by goalkeeper Van Tien, Mg Mg Lwin scored the second goal of the match.

However, immediately after that goal, the referee blew the final whistle. U21 HAGL won 4-3, thus securing their place in the semi-finals of Group B. Their opponent will be the winner of Group A, U21 Vietnam.

According to VNE