Khánh Hòa win second match, enter AFF champ’s quarters

Sanna Khánh Hòa players celebrate their group D win, beating Al-Sadd of Qatar 3-2 yesterday in Thailand.

The second win boosted Sanna Khánh Hòa to become the leader of Group D with six points, and will see Dibba Al Hissin SCC of the United Arab Emirates in the knock-out stage today.

Meanwhile, Trần Văn Thành drilled a fine shot past goalkeeper Ali Ibrahim to score the opener at the sixth minute for Sanna Khánh Hòa, though  it was quickly forgotten when Abdullah Salem netted to level for the other side.

The Vietnamese club hit back immediately through Phan Khắc Chi, and went into the interval one goal up.

Al-Sadd dominated the second-half possession, but rarely threatened to equalise until captain Mohamed Ismail popped up with two minutes remaining, only for Bảo to win with a minute to go, as the Qataris had to settle for the runner-up qualification berth.

 “I think we played well today, from our mentality to the technical and tactical plan. We created a lot of opportunities and we deserved to win,” said coach Đặng Đình Khang of Sanna Khánh Hòa.

“I’m satisfied with my players, who showed off our team spirit and strictly played as we have discussed. I told them to make their best efforts – every match is a final for us and we deserve this position,” he said.

On the other side, coach Paulo Fernandes of Al Sadd congratulated Sanna Khánh Hòa on their win. He said the better team played very well, while his players were slow in the first half. The second half was better for them, but it was not enough to win back the game, since Sanna Khánh Hòa remained strong.

Al-Sadd will meet Nafit Al- Wasat of Iraq, who topped group C in the quarter-finals.

In other futsal news, Thái Sơn Nam of Việt Nam won a silver medal at the ASEAN Football Federation Futsal Club Championship, which closed on Saturday in Myanmar.

Thái Sơn Nam lost 3-4 to defending champion Thai Port FC of Thailand, in a match they led 2-0 within nine minutes of the beginning.

However, the inexperienced team failed to maintain their advantage, as the Thai players quickly equalized the result, before going ahead with two more goals.

Thái Sơn Nam tried hard and added another goal, but it came at the end of the tournament.

Additionally, MIC FC of the hosts defeated Black Steel from Indonesia 6-5 to take third place.

On the women’s side, Thái Sơn Nam District 8 beat Bangkok FC 3-2 to win a bronze medal.