U21 HAGL wins against competitor for semi-final ticket

Despite being behind twice, the defending champions still managed to come back to win 4-3 against U21 Myanmar, earning a ticket to the semi-finals of the 2015 International U21 Championship.

In the seventh minute, U21 Myanmar opened the scoring after a series of threats to the U21 HAGL goal. Receiving the ball from a teammate's pass, Yan Naing Oo launched a diagonal shot. The ball hit the post before finding Zaw Hein. The Myanmar player's quick and decisive kick made the defending champion's net fly up.

Not long after, from a long pass from Xuan Truong, Cong Phuong ran down, flicked the ball over goalkeeper Thitsar Min and headed it home 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 showed Cong Phuong's technical level as well as his composure even though the U21 Myanmar goalkeeper had come out very quickly.

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

After getting the equalizer, U21 HAGL continuously organized attacks and created many good opportunities, such as Dong Trieu's header that missed the post or Thanh Tung's shot. In their determination to protect their own net, many U21 Myanmar players played rough, causing many strong collisions and receiving consecutive yellow cards.

The surprise happened again when the away team increased the score to 2-1 in the 35th minute. From a simple attack, the ball was hung for Mg Mg Lwin. Although the distance was quite far from the goal, the U21 Myanmar striker still had a dangerous enough header to send the ball beyond the reach of goalkeeper Van Tien.

But just two minutes later, from another long pass from Tuan Anh, Van Toan dribbled past goalkeeper Thitsar Min and shot the ball. Although the U21 Myanmar defender managed to lean forward to block the shot, in the rebound shot immediately after, Van Toan did not give the opponent another chance to block it.

Despite being behind twice, U21 HAGL made a brilliant comeback to win 4-3. Photo: Duc Dong.

In the second half, U21 HAGL took the lead thanks to an own goal from a Myanmar defender. The ball from Kim Hung's left-wing cross hit Thein Zaw and changed direction, leaving goalkeeper Thitsar Min helpless. Not stopping there, in the 83rd minute, substitute player Minh Vuong had a beautiful free kick to raise the score to 4-2. Normally, at favorable angles, the trio Tuan Anh, Xuan Truong, and Cong Phuong are the ones responsible for free kicks. But Minh Vuong surprised the U21 Myanmar defense thanks to a quick run-up and kick.

At this point, the atmosphere in the Thong Nhat stadium became very exciting. This only decreased a little when Myanmar scored a goal to shorten the score. Seizing the opportunity from goalkeeper Van Tien's mistake, Mg Mg Lwin scored the second goal of this match.

However, right after the above goal, the referee blew the whistle to end the match. U21 HAGL won 4-3, thereby securing a ticket to the semi-finals in group B. Their opponent will be the first team in group A, U21 Vietnam.

According to VNE