Viet Nam win first match in zonal competition

Nguyen Thi Thu Hien of Viet Nam (left) vies for a ball with Rebosura of the Philippines during their Group B match at the Asian Football Confederation Girls’ U14 Regional Championship for the ASEAN zone. Viet Nam won 3-0.

Tran Thi Hai Linh converted a penalty shootout into the opening goal in the 26th minute.

Coach Nguyen Tien Minh of Viet Nam made four changes in the second half. His changes worked well as substitute Nguyen Thi Hang made it 2-0 for the host with a close-range shoot.

She then got another goal towards the end of the match.

“They are still young and can’t avoid feeling nervous when competing at the continental level. They had psychological mental issues, but overcame them to get their first win today. I believe they will grow stronger in the future,” Minh said at the post-match meeting.

However, he said his players did not connect well with each other, leading to a lack of understanding. He hoped the problem would be solved in the next game.

Coach Marnelli Salvador Dimzon of the Philippines said her team had bad luck as they wasted several chances. However, she was satisfied with what they did, because the players had prepared for only one month for the tournament.

In another Group B game, Singapore beat Malaysia 3-1.

In Group A, the defending champion hammered Laos 9-0 and Myanmar beat Cambodia 3-0.