Matsubara win BTV Cup

A 4-3 penalty shoot-out victory earned Brazil”s Matsubara the title of the Binh Duong Television-sponsored invitational football tournament/BTV Cup, which ended on November 24.

The two sides were level at 1-1 after full-time. Dong Tam Long An shocked their opponents by taking the lead after seven minutes through a goal by Antonio Rodrigues but Matsubara levelled in the second half by Neguetti.

Both sides hit the woodwork.

Starting the game as underdogs, Dong Tam Long An surprised the crowd by taking the 1-0 lead after seven minutes.

Capitalising on the Matsubara defenders” lack of concentration, Rodrigues headed home the opener.

Going 1-0 down, Matsubara kept heavy pressure on Dong Tam Long An”s defence but their first chance only came after 32 minutes.

Marcio”s 18 metre freekick beat goalie Fabio Dos Santos but hit the woodwork.

After the break, Dong Tam Long An sat back on their own half and launched counter-attacks whenever they had a chance.

Nguyen Minh Phuong could have doubled the lead if his freekick had not hit the post. 

Minutes after that scare, Matsubara levelled. Joel was denied by the woodwork and Neguetti slotted the rebound, which was parried away by Dos Santos but the lineman said it was a goal as the ball had crossed the line.

Dong Tam Long An had chances to restore their lead but Rodrigues and Minh Minh failed to score.

Rodrigues finished wide when he found himself alone with only the Matsubara goalie to beat, while Minh Minh failed to slot home the rebound after Rodrigues was denied by the Matsubara goalkeeper.

A shoot-out was required as Dong Tam Long An missed twice by Minh Tri and Rodrigues while Matsubara missed once.

In a third-placed play-off, Da Nang lost 3-1 to Daejeon.

Following is the result:

Winners: Matsubara with US $20,000 as bonus

Runners-up: Dong Tam Long An, US $10,000

Third placed: Daejeon, US $5,000

Top scorer: Salatiel (Matsubara) with six goals

Best goalie: Rodolfo (Matsubara)

Player of the Tournament: Nguyen Minh Phuong.

Nhan dan