ASEAN U19 Championship: Despite losing, U19 Vietnam still hopeful
Against the superior U19 Australia, despite their best efforts, Coach Hua Hien Vinh’s players had to accept a 2-6 defeat. This outcome wasn’t entirely unexpected, and U19 Vietnam still holds hope of advancing to the next round…
In their second match, U19 Vietnam entered with determination to earn 3 points to stay in contention for a spot in the semifinals. Therefore, right from the start, Coach Hua Hien Vinh’s players actively engaged in an open play style against the strongest team in their group, U19 Australia.
In fact, this approach from Hua Hien Vinh’s players caught the highly-rated Australian team off guard. Surprisingly, U19 Vietnam even controlled the game and played better offensively in the first 15 minutes.
Before the match, Coach Hua Hien Vinh proactively had his players engage in relaxing and stress-relieving activities to ease the pressure following their 1-1 draw with Myanmar. He knew the upcoming clash against U19 Australia would be extremely challenging.
Returning to the match, in the 19th minute, a mistake in clearing the ball by Mai Hoang allowed Quintal, the midfielder, to steal possession from several Vietnamese players before passing to Najdocski, who calmly slotted the ball home to open the scoring for U19 Australia. This goal boosted the morale of the Australian team, allowing them to regain control and execute their attacks more effectively. Despite this, U19 Vietnam still had moments of sharp counterattacks, though they were unable to convert them into goals.
In the 39th minute, starting from a midfield build-up, Najdocski broke free and unleashed a shot to make it 2-0 for U19 Australia, completing his brace in the half. Early in the second half, the score was further extended to 3-0 for U19 Australia. In a rapid counterattack, Sulemani dribbled past defenders and fired a powerful shot past goalkeeper Van Binh in the 49th minute.
It wasn’t until the 56th minute that Quang Dung, through a coordinated effort, struck a magnificent long-range shot to pull one back for U19 Vietnam, reducing the deficit to 1-3.
In the 66th minute, U19 Vietnam conceded another goal in a somewhat clumsy situation, as their defense and goalkeeper Van Binh allowed Najdocski to easily score, making it 4-1 for U19 Australia. With nothing to lose, U19 Vietnam had to push forward aggressively. Taking advantage of this, the Australian youngsters launched extremely dangerous counterattacks. In the 76th minute, Heweh extended the lead to 5-1 for Australia.
In the 85th minute, goalkeeper Cullen fouled Cong Phuong inside the penalty area, resulting in a penalty for U19 Vietnam. Bao Long successfully converted the penalty to narrow the score to 2-5. However, in stoppage time (90+6), Australia scored again through Vickery, making it 6-2.
Despite the 2-6 defeat, U19 Vietnam still has hope to advance from the group stage. They will play their final match against the weakest team in the group, Laos, and will also await the result of the match between U19 Australia and U19 Myanmar.
