Vietnamese players celebrate their win against Cambodia on September 5 (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – Nguyen Quang Hai scored his first goal
for the national team in Vietnam’s 2-1 win over Cambodia in their third Group C
match of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup qualification in Phnom
Penh on September 5.
The victory ended Vietnam’s winless streak that saw the team
finishing with draw and loss results in five matches in a row.
Vietnam said goodbye to their head coach Nguyen Huu Thang
after their unexpected defeat at the 29th SEA Games last month.
The team was being managed by acting coach Mai Duc
Chung.
It took the visiting side just four minutes to find the opener at the
Olympic Stadium, which lured nearly 50,000 spectators, most
of whom were home supporters.
Midfielder Nguyen Van Quyet netted a close low shot
into the far corner of goalkeeper Sou Yaty, who dived to his
right but failed to block the ball.
However, the early goal did not help Vietnam have a
comfortable game against the hosts who created a lot of difficulties for their
rivals in the remaining time.
Cambodia needed only six minutes to level the
score, which was achieved by their very own ’Messi’ Chan
Vathanaka.
Two Cambodians worked together in the box, which was watched
by six Vietnamese players and goalie Dang Van Lam.
Vathanaka sent his teammate’s pass to Lam’s right corner and made
his 12th goal for the national team.
After their goal, the Cambodians attacked strongly. They
gave no chance to Vietnam. Well-known Vietnamese striker Nguyen
Cong Phuong was unable to reach his peak and was replaced in the
second half.
Chung, who will return to work with the national women’s
football team after this match, made several changes in the second
half, including an unexpected replacement of Vu Minh Tuan.
Tuan suffered a twisted ankle and had to leave the
field, giving up his post to 19-year-old Hai, who made
it 2-1 with an accurate header that could not be stopped, although he was
only 1.68m, one of the shortest players for Vietnam.
“It was a difficult match for Vietnam, as we
have never played on artificial grass before and had few days
to become familiar with it. Tonight, we were against many
Cambodian supporters,” said Chung at the post-match news
briefing.
“Cambodias are different now. They are much stronger
than before. They created many challenges for us, but we
found their weaknesses. Their left-wing defender often took part
in the attacks, but they returned home slowly. Our first
goal was made by exploiting this opportunity. Their mid-field was not
strong enough, only two against Vietnam’s five, so they could not resist
our attacks,” he said.
“Vietnam were also not good today, but look at the
overall result, we netted a win; it is what we need,” he added.
With the win, Vietnam improved their winning record over
Cambodia to six matches. Vietnam have never lost to Cambodia to date.
They jumped to the top position in the group
with five points after three matches. Jordan are second with four points
but have played only two games. They
will play Afghanistan in the next match. Cambodia are third
with three points.
Vietnam will host Cambodia in their second leg match on October 10
at Hanoi’s My Dinh Stadium.-VNA