U21 Song Lam Nghe An defeated U21 Ho Chi Minh City Football Club on the opening day of the 2025 National U21 Championship Finals.
U21 Song Lam Nghe An defeated host U21 Ho Chi Minh City Football Club on the opening day of the 2025 National U21 Championship Finals. The match took place on the afternoon of July 19, at Ba Ria Vung Tau Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City.
In the qualifying stage, the team ofU21 Song Lam Nghe Ancompeted in Group B and achieved an unbeaten record after 4 matches, with 2 wins and 2 draws, thereby gaining 8 points and ranking second in the group, only behind U21 PVF.
Entering the final round of the 2025 National U21 Tournament, U21 Song Lam Nghe An fell into Group A with the following teams: Host U21 Ho Chi Minh City Football Club, U21 SHB Da Nang and U21 PVF-CAND. This is considered a relatively "easy" group for coach Pham Anh Tuan's team.
In the opening match of the final round, U21 Song Lam Nghe An will face the host U21 Ho Chi Minh City Football Club. This is a very important match, which will decide the ticket to continue in Group A of U21 Song Lam Nghe An.
Therefore, coach Pham Anh Tuan has launched a team with many key players. Among them, 6 players currently playing for Team 1 Song Lam Nghe An were placed in the starting lineup.
Specifically including: Goalkeeper Huu Hau, center back Le Nguyen Hoang, defender Nguyen Mai Hoang, midfielder Tran Nam Hai, Quang Vinh, Long Vu.
Besides, players who are usually the main players in the qualifying round such as center back Tien Thang, defender Tan Minh, midfielder Van Quy, striker Phan Duy Hao, and Trong Son are also named to play in the first match of the final round.
To balance defense and attack, the U21 Song Lam Nghe An coaching staff used a 4-4-2 formation to approach the match.
Determined to achieve positive results on the opening day, U21 Song Lam Nghe An entered the match proactively against the home team. Coach Pham Anh Tuan's team, with their superior ball control, put great pressure on the field of U21 Ho Chi Minh City Football Club.
To counter the opponent's strength, the home team used a large number of players, retreating deep to ensure the defensive front. However, U21 Song Lam Nghe An still created countless opportunities in front of Hoa Xuan Tin's goal (U21 Ho Chi Minh City Football Club).
In the 16th minute, from a pass that passed the opponent's defense by Tran Nam Hai, the ball reached Van Quy's feet. However, facing goalkeeper Hoa Xuan Tin, the striker wearing the number 19 shirt was unable to get the shot he wanted.
Unable to score, coach Pham Anh Tuan's students continued to attack from many different directions. In the 41st minute, from Van Quy's dribble down the sideline, the striker made a pass back to the second line. Quang Vinh ran in at the right time and quickly kicked the ball, but the ball did not go in the right direction.
Not stopping there, 3 minutes later, from a corner kick of U21 Song Lam Nghe An, the ball was hung in the middle of the goal, Tien Thang cut in bravely, then made a close-range header, but the ball went higher than Hoa Xuan Tin's goal.
Missing too many opportunities, U21 Song Lam Nghe An had to accept a 0-0 draw after the first 45 minutes ended.
Entering the second half, U21 Song Lam Nghe An continued to maintain the ball control style of play and organized the team to advance in search of goals. Many attacking plans were deployed by coach Pham Anh Tuan's students.
After many missed chances, in the 62nd minute, U21 Song Lam Nghe An broke the deadlock. From a corner kick, the ball was hung in the middle of the goal, the Nghe An player made a header, but the ball hit the crossbar. Fortunately, the ball then found Phan Duy Hao, this striker had no difficulty in heading into the empty net, opening the score for U21 Song Lam Nghe An.
However, the joy of victory of coach Pham Anh Tuan's students did not last long. In the 71st minute, U21 Ho Chi Minh City Football Club brought the match back to the starting line. From a pass from his teammate, Quang Khoi escaped to face goalkeeper Huu Hau and then fired a technical shot into the net of U21 Song Lam Nghe An.
After the equalizer, U21 Ho Chi Minh City Football Club proactively played closely to preserve the draw. However, under strong pressure from the opponent, the home team could not get what they needed.
In the 82nd minute, U21 Song Lam Nghe An raised the score to 2-1. Starting from a diagonal pass from the left wing, Trong Son rushed down to execute a technical shot, goalkeeper Hoa Xuan Tin excellently pushed the ball away, but Trong Tuan was there in time to accurately cushion the ball into the net of U21 Ho Chi Minh City Football Club.
In the remaining minutes of the match, the home team tried to find an equalizer but failed. The match ended with a score of 2-1 in favor of U21 Song Lam Nghe An./.
