Finland edge Viet Nam in opener
Viet Nam suffered a 1-0 loss to Olympic Finland in the Bach Viet International Football Cup held at the HCM City"s Thong Nhat Stadium on November 15.
In an earlier match, Cameroon defeated Indonesia 2-0 to top the round robin format tournament, considered Viet Nam”s last chance to prepare before participating in the Asian Games on December 1-15 in Doha, Qatar.
The loss pushed Viet Nam to third place in ranking. The country has a better goal difference with the bottom placed Indonesia.
Finland started more aggressively than Viet Nam despite being the weakest contenders at the championship. But the team to first threaten was Viet Nam.
In the 17th minute, halfback Thach Bao Khanh gave a perfect pass to Le Tan Tai from the right wing, who quickly passed it to striker Nguyen Anh Duc in the penalty area. But the player, who shone at the last month”s Agribank Cup, failed to convert it when a Finnish defender cleared the ball.
Two minutes later, Finland nearly scored from a corner kick. But Taulo”s attempt was saved by Tan Tai.
Viet Nam gradually took control and continuously attacked but could not find a way to beat goalie Korhonen Janne. All the passes to the box were safely blocked.
Two minutes before the break, Bao Khanh broke through three Finnish defenders to threaten Janne but fell down before being able to shoot.
The game was under control of the visitors in the first minutes of the second half. Sebastian Sorsa”s ball to Porokara, who chested the ball to shoot from near the edge of the area sailed fractionally over the bar.
The visitors finally found the mark in the 57th minute of the match.
Taking advantage of a defence lapse, Finnish striker Porokara Roni beat Viet Nam”s keeper To Vinh Loi, who watched the ball sail past.
The goal unhinged Vietnamese players, whose attacks lacked cohesion.
While Viet Nam”s coach Alfred Riedl made several changes to improve the attacks, visitors” coach Markku Kanerva strengthened the defence.
With the win, the north European team took three points to rank second in the table. They will play Cameroon tomorrow while Viet Nam face Indonesia, who are tough rivals in regional tournaments.
The Bach Viet Cup winner carries a prize money of US$40,000. The team that comes second will take home $20,000, while the third placed team will receive $10,000.
VNS
