AFC Cup MD5: Maziya Sports 1-2 Hanoi T&T

The visitors took a lead in the Group F contest as early as the ninth minute when Gonzalo Marronkle converted from the spot and Nguyen Van Quyet doubled Hanoi’s tally with his sixth goal of the competition in the first half’s midway point.

Although Maziya pulled a goal back in the second period through a penalty from Ahmed Mohamed on 58 minutes, they were unable to find the net again and Hanoi took the three points that confirmed their passage into the next stage of the tournament with a game still remaining.

“This was not an easy game as it was an away game and the conditions were not ideal,” said Hanoi coach Phan Than Hung.

“Maziya is a strong side and they pressed us a lot in the second half and made it very difficult for us to play and then scored a goal themselves.

“But fortunately we were able to win the match and get the three points which is the most important thing and we are happy about that.”

Knowing that a win would be enough to secure a place in the Round of 16 ahead of kick-off, the Vietnamese club began the game with their attacking intentions clear and took the lead after less than 10 minutes of the tie.

Awarded a penalty by referee Sukhbir Singh, Hanoi’s Argetinian striker Marronkle stepped up and successfully netted for his fourth goal in five AFC Cup games.

Samson Kayode then went close to a second on the 19th minute but Maziya goalkeeper Mohamed Imran was equal to the shot and parried the ball away for a corner.

And just two minutes later the visitors made it 2-0 as the prolific Van Quyet beat defender Zhivko Todorov and drilled the ball past Imran into the far bottom corner of the goal.

After the halftime interval Maziya worked hard to restore parity and two minutes shy of the hour mark their efforts were rewarded with a penalty that Mohamed successfully converted.

However, the Maldivian side were unable to find a second and their search for a first win of the campaign continues.

““We had some good chances to score but we failed to convert those opportunities into goals and the opponents took advantage of that and were more clinical than us,” said Maziya coach Ismail Mahfooz.

“I know that it would be difficult for them to play here and I tried to take advantage of that but we failed to do that on the field.

“However, we did have some changes to the starting team and I am happy with the performances of the newcomers in the game.”