Group C: Vietnam hold Korea Republic to keep hopes alive
Vietnam fought back from a goal down to hold ten-man Korea Republic 1-1 in Group C of the AFC U23 Asian Cup™ Uzbekistan 2022 on Sunday.
06/06/2022 09:23:35
The draw meant defending champions Korea Republic were denied the opportunity to seal their berth in the knockout stage with a match to spare while Vietnam, runners-up in 2018, are still very much in the race to advance.
Korea Republic had dominated in their opening day 4-1 win over Malaysia and that trend – despite head coach Hwang Sun-hong making five changes – continued at the Lokomotiv Stadium with the young Taeguk Warriors controlling the early proceedings.
Korea Republic could have taken the lead as early as the eighth minute when Vietnam’s Luong Duy Cuong was dispossessed in midfield, with Goh Young-jun pouncing on the loose ball before finding Park Jeong-in in the area, but the Busan IPARK forward could only force goalkeeper Quan Van Chuan into a parry.
It would be the first of several saves by the Hanoi FC custodian, as Korea Republic came close again through Jeong Sang-bin and Park Jae-hwan.
Vietnam, however, had moments of their own, with their best chance of the first half coming in the 32nd minute when Vu Tien Long lost his marker to collect Khuat Van Khang’s cross at the near post, only to see his strike rattle the side netting.
Korea Republic should have broken the deadlock three minutes from the break when Jeong surged into the area before pulling back to find an unmarked Eom Ji-sung, but the Gwangju FC midfielder’s tame shot was an easy save for Quan to make.
Head coach Hwang sent on Oh Se-hun and Cho Young-wook, who scored twice against Malaysia, after the break to further bolster Korea Republic’s attacking options, but it was Vietnam’s Phan Tuan Tai who had the first glimpse on goal in the second half, but just failed to keep his header on target.
The move to send on Cho, however, proved to be a masterstroke as the forward, combining with fellow substitute Hong Hyun-seok, finally broke the deadlock in the 63rd minute.
It all started with Kim Tae-hwan intercepting Phan’s pass, with Hong then waltzing past the Vietnamese defence before relaying the ball to Cho, who drilled his strike into the bottom left corner.
The tide, however, turned in Vietnam’s favour when Lee Jin-yong was given his marching orders after receiving his second yellow card for a foul on Nguyen Van Tung in the 78th minute.
The young Golden Star Warriors fully utilised their numerical advantage to press forward and they were rewarded five minutes later when Phan’s cross flashed across the face of goal to find Vu, who unleashed an unstoppable strike to make it 1-1.
Vietnam, on two points, will play Malaysia in their final group tie on Wednesday, while Korea Republic face Thailand.
Source: AFC
