Ngo Ngoc Son of Vietnam (centre) scores one of his goals in his team 18-0 over Brunei. (Photo courtesy of VFF)
Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam topped the Group A of the
ASEAN Football Federation Futsal HDBank Championship after their 18-0 win over
Brunei in HCM City on October 29.
With three wins, the hosts led the group and met their target
of advancing to the semi-finals. They also secured a berth in the Asian
Futsal Championship final next year.
Being one of the two best teams in the region, Vietnam met with no
difficulty in setting up their domination over Brunei from the
beginning.
Brunei played defensively, but they could not
stop the Vietnamese players from scoring early.
Duc Hoa opened the result with a crossing finish just 45
seconds from the first whistle.
The hosts continued scoring six more goals in the
first half by Quoc Hung, Thai Huy, Van Toan, Trong Luan, Ngo Ngoc Son
and Quoc Nam.
Brunei was under heavy pressure in the second
period. Vietnam made a shower of goals with 11 successful finishes.
Thai Huy and Danh Phat netted a hat-trick each. Luan and Son
added a double to their own hat-trick, while the last one went to Xuan Du.
After the match, coach Miguel Rodrigo of Vietnam said it
was not a difficult game for his side. Players were asked to score as many
goals as possible to ensure they have the advantage of better goal
difference when vying for the top position.
The Spaniard was satisfied with the
team’s performance. The next step would
be to secure the top position in the group and prepare
for the last-four round, he said.
Vietnam are also completing for the top position in
the group with Myanmar in the last qualifying round match at the Phu Tho
Gymnasium on October 30.
Rodrigo said the match against Myanmar would not be a piece of cake. Vietnam
played Myanmar in the recent Southeast Asian Games and
Myanmar have shown great progress, he noted.
On the other side, coach Yonos Yusof of Brunei said Vietnam
were the toughest rivals among the three teams that
they had met in this tournament. It was a team of strong players.
Brunei tried to defend but did not succeed, he said.
Brunei will play the last match against the
Philippines, who are at the same level, and Yusof
hopes to secure a win before leaving Vietnam.
Myanmar beat Indonesia 3-2 on October 29 in a crucial
tie to make the cut for the semi-finals. They have also qualified for the first
time ever for the Asian championship.
“The game was very important. So we had to be patient
and not react too quickly,” said Myanmar head coach Htay Myint on
aseanfootball.org.
“The game was very close, but in the end, we were a
little lucky to win this game, especially, when Indonesia went for
the power play at the closing stage.”
Meanwhile, Indonesian head coach Vic Hermans said: “We
were losing out in the one on one just like October 29 (against Vietnam). This
is the price we pay when we only train for months without playing any matches.
We were just lacking in the defence.”-VNA