Women"s team lose 1-0 to Myanmar in SG opener

The Vietnamese women”s had a difficult start of their defending campaign, conceding a 1-0 defeat to the 22nd SEA Games silver medallists, Myanmar, on November 22.
 

Before the match, coach Mai Duc Chung of the Vietnamese team said that his players were confident in a victory over Myanmar, who beat them in the 2004 Southeast Asian championship on penalty shootout.

The Myanmar players, with better physical form, dominated the game from the start, launching attack after attack on the Vietnamese goal. However, the Vietnamese side stood firm before first half. If lucky, the Vietnamese side could have opened the scoring seconds before halftime. Van Thi Thanh”s through ball found a Vietnamese striker in the penalty box, whose header was denied by the woodwork.

In the second half, the Vietnamese players, with poorer physical form failed to keep their pressure on the Myanmar defence. On the other hand, they exposed dead gaps in their defence. In the 66th minute, a substitute of Myanmar scored the winner.

Despite their great efforts, Van Thi Thanh and Doan Kim Chi failed to net.

The Vietnamese team next play Thailand, who beat Indonesia 2-1 in an earlier match, on November 26.

Five women”s teams, including Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines are competing on a round robin basis. The leaders and runners-up will compete for the gold medal.