Olympic team end final round with defeat

The Vietnam Olympic team lost 3-1 to hosts Qatar, who were 3-0 up through a brace by Waleed Jassim and a goal by Hasan Al Haydos.

Vietnam coach Alfred Riedl made three changes to the squad that lost 4-0 to Japan in Hanoi four days ago. Leftback Chau Phong Hoa, central midfielder Nguyen Minh Chuyen and Nguyen Anh Duc came in as Vo Nhat Tan, Vo Duy Nam and Nguyen Vu Phong made way.

Vietnam made a slow start due to jetlag but had the first opportunity after 19 minutes when Phan Thanh Binh finished wide after a good cross from his partner Cong Vinh.

Having survived the scare, the Qataris opened the scoring three minutes later. Jassim ran past Minh Chuyen and centreback Mai Xuan Hop, before beating Tran Duc Cuong with an unstoppable finish.

Jassim was the most dangerous player for the hosts as he set up Al Haydos for the second goal seven minutes later. From Jassim”s floating free kick, Al Haydos fired home a fine volley.

The hosts should have been more than 2-0 up in the first half when Mohammed Salem Al Hamad was sent in alone on the goalkeeper but only to see his effort blocked by Duc Cuong.

The visitors restarted in a more aggressive manner after the break and could have narrowed the gap if Cong Vinh had not headed wide six minutes into the second half.

The Qataris scored again after the scare. A minute after Cong Vinh”s missed chance, Al Haydos went down the left flank and set up Jassim for his second goal.

Jassim came close to completing his hat-trick on 70 minutes, firing in a powerful free kick that beat Duc Cuong but hit the woodwork.

A large number of Vietnamese people, who are working in Qatar, gave a strong support to the team and their efforts were finally rewarded ten minutes from time.

Skipper Cong Vinh excelled by firing home a consolation goal with a well-struck free kick.

Boosted by the goal, the Vietnamese side made valiant efforts in the closing minutes but Thanh Binh and Vu Phong failed to find the net.

Vietnam finished their AFC Final Round for the 2008 Beijing Games bottom in their group with only two points, won from two draws against Qatar and Saudi Arabia in Hanoi.

The match in Qatar was the final rehearsal for coach Riedl’s men before starting their 24th SEA Games campaign in Thailand in December.

And Mr Riedl will have much to do to improve his team’s defending as he was quoted as saying after the match that he felt that the defence let his side down.

“We struggled to negotiate with the crosses. However, this has been an important match as we prepare for the South East Asian Games, next month. We played well at home all through but our performances in the away matches have been disappointing and we have to work on it,” Mr Riedl was quoted by Gulf Times.

Nhan dan