Viet Nam win in Olympic qualifier

Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet (left) scores a double in Viet Nam’s 4-2 victory over host Myanmar during the Olympics’ qualification round in Mandalay City.

It was a must-win for the former Southeast Asian Games champions who unexpectedly lost 0-1 to underdog Chinese Taipei some days ago at the Mansalarthiri Stadium, Mandalay City.

Coach Norimatsu Takashi had on the field his best players who created successive attacks from the start of the game.

Their efforts brought sweet results with three goals scored in the first half brushing aside the strong home support for Myanmar by thousands of its fans.

Huynh Nhu opened the score at the 17th minute with a shot to the far right corner.

The first goal gave a strong push to the team with the second goal coming just five minutes later.

Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet scored an easy goal when she passed the Myanmar defenders to tap the ball into the net.

Nguyet completed her double by booting the ball in from the penalty spot just before the break.

The visiting side maintained their domination and netted another goal in the early minutes of the second half by Huynh Nhu who dazzled with a solo run from the centre of the field to beat goalkeeper Mya Phu Ngon.

Myanmar, who failed to convert their chances in the first half, turned things around in the second.

In the last 10 minutes, it retaliated strongly and earned two goals but it was not enough to earn them a draw.

With three points, Viet Nam are third behind Chinese Taipei and Thailand, respectively, in the rankings.

Thailand secured their second victory yesterday defeating Jordan 1-0.

In the fixture tomorrow, Viet Nam will play arch rival Thailand, who beat them 2-1 in the final of the 2013 SEA Games, at the same stadium.