Viet Nam win Coal tourney

Viet Nam took the International Women”s Coal-Minerals Football Tournament Cup on November 5 after beating Shandong team 4-3 in Quang Ninh Province”s Cua Ong Stadium.

The first chance at a goal was on the Vietnamese side in the 30th minute.

Right halfback Tran Thi Kim Hong after a long run tapped the ball to the box for striker Vu Thi Huyen Linh who missed it by a hair. The ball skimmed the goalmouth while the Vietnamese player despite great effort failed to touch.

Six minutes later, captain Doan Thi Kim Chi made a straight shot in the box which was so strong that Shandong”s goalie Zhang Tao, who is the China national team main keeper, had no chance of blocking it.

Unfortunately, it bounced off the right pole before going out.

After two periods without a goal, the teams entered the penalty kick round to determine the winner.

Viet Nam missed the first two shots and were left at a disadvantage. Both Van Thi Thanh and team captain Kim Chi failed to defeat goalie Zhang.

Vietnamese goalie Dang Thi Kieu Trinh also proved her talent in the final match. She blocked three shots from the Chinese side while her teammates successfully scored the next four.

With a victory, Viet Nam compromised for their 0-2 loss to Shandong in the group round last week.

Before the final, Viet Nam trounced Laos 10-0, winning a ticket to the final match last Saturday.

Although Chinese coach Chen Yun Fat rested most of his key players, Laos could not make any difference compared to their previous games. The neighbouring team went home without scoring any goal suffering 32 losses.

Strikers Le Thi Tuyet Mai and Do Thi Ngoc Cham each had a hattrick in the match while Nhieu Thuy Linh, Tran Thi Kim Hong, Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet and Van Thi Thanh scored twice each.

In the other match, host Coal-Minerals drew 1-1 with Chinese Taipei to secure a bronze medal.

The tournament, which is also known as the Viet Nam Sports Newspaper Cup, has hosted three foreign teams from Chinese Taipei, Laos and the Shandong team from China.

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

The organisers also offered prizes for fair-play, best goalkeeper, best scorer and best player.

The tournament is the last chance for the female footballers to hone their skills before defending their title at the 24th Southeast Asian Games. Their first match will be on December 5 against the Philippines

VNS