AFC U20 WOMEN’S ASIAN CUP Group A: China PR 3-0 Vietnam

Champions in 2006, China PR will seek a second win when they face Bangladesh on Saturday, while Vietnam will need to bounce back against Thailand.

It was Vietnam, however, who showed their attacking intent first when, in the third minute, Le Hong Yeu sent a long aerial ball to Ngan Thi Thanh Hieu, whose left-footed attempt from a tight angle proved too ambitious.

China PR made their first attempt in the 12th minute, with Zeng Yujia feeding Xiao Yafei down the right flank, only for Vietnam defender Nguyen Thi Thuong to clear the threat.

This was followed by a series of intermittent attacks from China PR, who went close in the 16th minute when Yu Xingyue’s close-range effort was parried by goalkeeper Le Thi Thu, while Wang Aifang’s rebound was denied by captain Nguyen Thi Thuy.

The East Asians continued to press and had another opportunity just before the half-hour mark when Lu Jiayu sent a header towards goal from the centre of the box, but the attempt lacked power and was comfortably gathered by Thu.

The repeated pressure on the Vietnamese defence finally paid off in the 39th minute when Zheng Lu picked up a loose ball in the box and buried the ball into the top left corner.

China PR then doubled their advantage two minutes before the break, as Yu Xingyue’s sublime cross found Zheng, who once again finished with composure to give her side a comfortable lead at half-time.

Colin Bell’s side returned from the break with the same attacking intent, with Li Ke firing from outside the box in the 48th minute, forcing the Vietnamese custodian to punch the effort away, while defender Huang Jiaxin sent a header wide to the right a minute later.

China PR continued to test the Vietnamese backline in the 60th minute when Wang’s cross from the corner found Lu inside the box, but her header drifted just wide of the left post.

Six minutes later, Vietnam, in their attempt to find a response, saw midfielder An Hoang Cuc unleash an effort from outside the box, which was safely collected by Chen.

Chen was called into action again moments later when Ngan Thi Thanh Hieu struck from a tight angle towards the bottom right corner, but was denied by the focused Chinese keeper.