U21 Song Lam Nghe An held U21 PVF to a draw in the qualifying match of the National U21 Tournament.
Since both teams had secured tickets to the final round of the 2025 National U21 Tournament, U21 Song Lam Nghe An proactively held U21 PVF to a draw in the final round of the qualifying round. The match took place on the afternoon of July 14, at the PVF Football Training Center Stadium.
Before entering the final match of the 2025 National U21 Championship qualifying round against U21 PVF,U21 Song Lam Nghe Anhas early qualified for the final round. With 7 points after 3 matches, coach Pham Anh Tuan and his team are temporarily ranked 2nd on the rankings. Meanwhile, U21 Cong An Ha Noi is ranked 3rd with 6 points but has completed all 4 matches, while U21 Dong A Thanh Hoa has only 1 point and no longer has a chance to compete. This means that regardless of the result of the last round, U21 Song Lam Nghe An is still sure to be present in the next round.
With a relaxed mentality and wanting to save energy for the pillars, Coach Pham Anh Tuan sent many reserve players onto the field. This made U21 Song Lam Nghe An somewhat inferior to U21 PVF right after the opening whistle.
Playing in their usual style, U21 PVF quickly took control of the game and launched attacks towards U21 Song Lam Nghe An's goal. Thanks to their ability to combine short passes with flexible movement, the home team continuously put pressure on Bao Ngoc's goal (SLNA). The opening goal came from a set piece in the 2nd minute. From a corner kick in the middle, the ball found Phuc Tai's position and this player did not miss the opportunity to quickly shoot, making the roof of U21 Song Lam Nghe An's net explode.
Although they were behind, U21 Song Lam Nghe An did not rush to attack. They continued to maintain their familiar defensive counter-attacking style of play, focusing on long passes to exploit the space on both flanks. This style of play gradually became effective, causing many difficulties for the U21 PVF defense.
After many sharp attacks but lacking precision in the final stages, the Nghe An team finally got an equalizer in the 37th minute. From a technical climb by Long Vu, the ball was accurately crossed to the far post for Vuong Quoc Dung to rush in and head the ball dangerously, giving the PVF U21 goalkeeper no chance to block.
The remaining minutes of the first half were balanced, both teams played cautiously and did not create many more dangerous situations. The score of 1-1 remained when the first half ended.
Entering the second half, U21 Song Lam Nghe An still maintained a moderate pace of play and did not push the formation too high to find a goal. However, in a lightning counterattack, player Hai Nam of U21 PVF committed a dangerous foul on midfielder Song Lam Nghe An, very quickly after that the main referee showed the second yellow card to disqualify this player.
Despite having one more player, U21 Song Lam Nghe An did not push up their formation to look for a goal, instead they played slow combinations in the middle of the field. Therefore, the Nghe An players did not create many dangerous opportunities towards the goal of U21 PVF.
In the opposite direction, the home team, due to being short-handed, concentrated most of their players at home to preserve the draw. Therefore, the match ended with a final score of 1-1.
With this result, U21 Song Lam Nghe An and U21 PVF both won tickets to the final round of the 2025 National U21 Tournament.
