Nation grieves another games defeat

Viet Nam failed to get revenge against Singapore after their shocking group phase loss and were humiliated yet again yesterday in the Southeast Asian Games” bronze-medal match at Nakhon Ratchasima”s Stadium, losing to the Lions 5-0.

Fazrul Nawaz struck three times, while Sharil Ishak and Agu Casmir scored in each half, lifting Singapore above Viet Nam in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. Adding insult to injury, the Vietnamese were poised to bring home their first SEA Games title and Singapore had not been considered a match favourite prior to the defeat.

In the gold-medal match last night, host Thailand beat Myanmar 2-0 to win their eighth consecutive title.

Title favourites Viet Nam and struggling Singapore were both fighting it out in group B.

Viet Nam got off to a smooth start with a 3-1 win against Malaysia, and Singapore played to a disappointing scoreless draw with the weaker Laos. But the Vietnamese side took a 3-2 hit, losing to the Lions, before struggling to beat Laos in the last group match.

Yesterday”s match saw Viet Nam at their weakest; players were out of sync under their interim head coach Mai Duc Chung who stepped into the position on Wednesday following the departure of Austrian Alfred Riedl. The Austrian resigned three days ago after Viet Nam lost to underdogs Myanmar 3-1 on penalty shootout on Tuesday.

Chung, who was assistant to Riedl, said before the match that they studied their opponents thoroughly and were determined to clinch a revenge, but his two days of coaching were reflected in the team performance.

Two-time Golden Ball Award winner and top striker Le Cong Vinh tried his best to make the last SEA Games match a win, but he remained alone in his efforts.

The team”s spirit plummeted when Singapore scored twice in the first half and three more times in the second.

The only ray of light for Viet Nam was in the middle of the first half when Mai Tien Thanh and Nguyen Vu Phong switched between wings to give their forwards positions near Hassan Sunny”s goal. Phan Thanh Binh was in the spotlight, taking several shots at Singapore.

Phung Cong Minh was pushed down in the field yesterday, playing defence. He helped To Vinh Loi keep their net clear for 37 minutes, but the Lions broke the balance when Ishak got the ball from a curve outside the 18-yard box to beat Loi to the net.

Eight minutes later, Nawaz opened his hat trick when he scored in a controversial off-side position, with Vietnamese defenders off guard and Loi out of reach.

The Lions pushed further five minutes after the break when Ishak broke the Vietnamese defence to face Loi in front of the goal. The keeper held him off, but Nawaz swooped in to claim the ball before Long Giang could stretch his right leg for a save.

Nawaz scored his third goal of the night six minutes later when he turned Isa Halim”s effort into a goal. Halim outplayed three Vietnamese defenders to lead the ball to the penalty box, leaving it to Nawaz to net the shot with ease.

Chung made two position changes after the break, but to little effect. Vinh was still alone; the Vietnamese top striker made Hassan work in the second half, but Vinh”s shots were all blocked.

Twelve minutes from time, Agu Casmir, with striking power comparable to Fazrul, finally saw his efforts pay off with a goal from the 18-yard box, beating Loi and launching the ball into the far net corner.

VNS