Coal ladies give Laos a 5-0 trouncing

Laos was lucky to hold Coal-Mineral down to a 5-0 final result on Thursday at the International Women”s Coal-Minerals Football Tournament held in Quang Ninh Province.

Rainy weather worked in favor of the visitors, preventing Vietnamese players from building strong assaults.

However, coach Lam Ngoc Lap told his players to use long and one-two passes. In the sixth minute of the game, it was 1-0 for Coal by Nguyen Thi Hanh.

Hanh intercepted a ball bounced off goalkeeper Hongthong Choulaphanh to take a straight shot to the net.

Hanh doubled the score seven minutes later after halfback Tu Thi Phu”s free kick from the left wing. Hanh escaped from Lao defenders for a quick tap past goalie Choulaphanh.

Striker Bui Thi Tuyet made it triple at the 31st minute after three missed chances by Bui Thi Phuong.

In the second half, though, the Lao side played much more strongly. Captain Sochitta Phonhalath kept the passes coming to forwards who made several close attempts on Coal-Mineral goalkeeper Nguyen Thanh Hao.

But the Lao side still failed to improve the situation on the scoreboard.

Coach Lap meanwhile rested some of his key players, Nguyen Thi Hai, Bui Thi Phuong, Luu Thi Mai and Bui Thi Tuyet, giving some young faces a chance on the pitch.

The lack of senior members in play decreased the power of the host but they still scored twice at the 77th and 89th minutes for a final result of 5-0.

The other match at Cam Pha Stadium, between China”s Shandong and Chinese Taipei teams, ended in a scoreless draw.

Laos, who gave up 22 goals and scored none at this tournament, meet Viet Nam today. At the same time, Coal will face Chinese Taipei. The team to emerge from this round with the most points will go on to face Shandong in the finals.

At present, Viet Nam, Coal and Taipei all have four points. Viet Nam and Coal share second place when their indexes are levelled.

Viet Nam has the advantage of facing the weakest team, Laos, who have only come to the tournament to gain experience.

The winner of the tournament will receive VND60 million (US$3,700) while the two runners-up will take home VND40 million and VND20 million, respectively.

The organisers will offer other prizes for fair-play, best goalkeeper, best scorer and best player.

The final match is scheduled next Monday.

VNS