SHB Danang of Vietnam qualified for the knock-out round of the Asian
Football Confederation (AFC) Cup 2013 after outperforming Maziya Sports
Recreation of Maldives 3-1 in their last Group G match on
April 30.
Striker Gaston Merlo made a hat-trick on 14, 33
and 67 minutes, earning the Vietnamese representative in Group G a
ticket to the second round.
SHB Danang was placed second only to Kelantan of Malaysia that defeated Ayeyawady of Myanmar 3-1 on the same day.
Second position means SHB Danang will be away in a knock-out clash
against Semen Padang of Indonesia. The two will play in a single match
to determine the winning team in the last Group eight.
Meanwhile, another Vietnamese team Saigon Xuan Thanh failed to qualify
for the knock-out stage after a 4-1 loss to East Bengal of India in
the last Group H match on the same day.
Both Saigon Xuan
Thanh and Selangor of Malaysia had eight points after six matches, but
the Malaysian team that beat Tamines Rovers of Singapore 3-2 on April 30
entered the second round on the aggregate score.-VNA