Thais swipe Agribank Cup with draw

With the same seven points after two wins and one draw, the Thai rivals brought home the cup and a bonus of US$40,000 after scoring more goals in the overall tournament.

Thailand, who are Viet Nam”s strongest opponent in the region, demonstrated their might two minutes from time when midfielder Ekaphan Inthasen, who plays for V-League”s Nam Dinh team, tested Vietnamese goalkeeper To Vinh Loi with a shot across the net.

The Thai players only increased their pace from there with consecutive attacks that exploited the home team”s mistakes along the defensive line.

They used long-distance shots, which is their strong point, to unnerve Vietnamese defenders while constantly changing the speed of play on the offensive line.

Thailand also successfully shut down Viet Nam”s midfielders from feeding balls to strikers, who rarely had opportunities to open up attacks on Thai keeper Kosin Hathairattanakul.

But at the 10th minute halfback Thach Bao Khanh sent a shot across the goal which the forward line failed to meet before it was cleared by Thai defenders.

But the shot did serve to energise the team, who began fierce attacks led by wings Le Tan Tai and Nguyen Huy Hoang.

Strikers Le Cong Vinh, Viet Nam”s Player of the Year, and Nguyen Anh Duc rotated to test Hathairattanakul”s talent, but My Dinh Stadium didn”t explode until 11 minutes after the break, when substitute Phung Van Nhien made a free kick from the right wing which touched one Thai defender and went to the net, opening up the scoreboard.

The second goal came shortly after from Cong Vinh, who dumped in a strong header to the far-right corner of Hathairattanakul”s net off an assist from captain Nguyen Minh Phuong.

With one hand on the cup, keeper Vinh Loi made a unbelievable mistake, helping Thailand narrow the score.

Captain Datsakorn Thongao, who will be on former V-League champions Hoang Anh Gia Lai”s roster next season, let a shot loose from 25m out, which Vietnamese defenders watched go over their heads and through Loi”s hands.

Two minutes later, disaster struck again when Loi stepped out from his position and missed his catch. The ball went to Tana Chanabut, a fresh substitute, who sealed the tie.

Viet Nam, who have won the championship for the last two years, ranked second, taking a prize of $20,000.

In the third place play-off playing before, New Zealand defeated Bahrain 1-0 to rank third and earn $10,000.

VNS