Nam Dinh and Binh Dinh to face off in Cup final

(VNS) Nam Dinh will meet with Pisico Binh Dinh in the National Cup”s final match. Both teams won their semi-final matches from penalty shootouts on Sunday.

Host Nam Dinh fell behind in the 74th minute of their semi-final, after failing at many attempts to pull ahead. Song Lam Nghe An”s Nguyen Nhu Thuat made a smart pass to Trong Hoang who broke the off-side trap and passed Nam Dinh”s goalie Bui Quang Huy to shoot into an empty net.

But the visitors could not maintain their lead. Nguyen Van Vinh, who was put in during the second half, was sent off after receiving a second yellow card, and Nghe An were made to play with one less person than their rivals. At the last minute of the match, the score was tied. Halfback Khuong Quoc Tuan made a header to level the score.

In the shootout, Nam Dinh missed one penalty and Nghe An missed two, giving the hosts a final win.

“My players were under a lot of pressure this afternoon. The visitors were young and strong and played with very good spirit.

“We were running out of luck, and we were shooting poorly,” said Nam Dinh”s coach Nguyen Ngoc Hao.

“This will be the first time we play in the National Cup”s final. We will not waste the chance.”

“It”s been a long time since Nam Dinh won a title. I hope to make the provincial fans happy this time,” Hao said.

In the second semi-final, Binh Dinh beat Khatoco Khanh Hoa 8-7 after a 1-all score in the two main halves.

Both goals were scored from penalties in the fifth and 41st minutes for Binh Dinh and Khanh Hoa, respectively.

In the shootout, Binh Dinh”s goalkeeper Nguyen Van Phuc successfully blocked an attempt from Khanh Hoa”s goalie Nguyen Duc Hung at the eighth turn.

It will be Binh Dinh”s fourth consecutive time in the finals.

VNS