Vietnam And Thailand In Under-21 Semis
By Alex How & James Kon

Bandar Seri Begawan - Vietnam and Thailand booked a place in the semifinals of the Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy for Under-21 Asean Youth Football Championship 2005 at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium yesterday.

Vietnam edged out Malaysia 2-1 while Thailand beat Indonesia 2-1. Thailand topped Group A and will meet Laos in the semifinal while Vietnam will square off with Myanmar in another semifinal on Wednesday.

Indonesia opened accounts in the 22nd minute through a header by Ahmad Zaelani but three minutes later Kittipol Papunga equalised for Thailand on the 25th minute with a well-taken free kick.

Preecha Chaokla scored the winning goal for Thailand in the 64th minute to send the defending champions home early.

Striker Tran Duc Duong was the hero for Vietnam after scoring two goals in the 34th and 86th minute although missing a penalty in the 20th minute.

Vietnam showed great teamwork throughout the game and was rewarded for their effort in the 34th minute through Tran Duc Duong from a Pham Thanh Nguyen pass to make it 1-0.

Shaken by the goal, the Malaysians tried to fight back but found the Vietnamese defence a tough nut to crack.

Malaysia also had little option in making substitutions as they had only three players on the bench. After the interval, Malaysia changed their tactics and was rewarded with a goal from substitute Syamshahril bin Gulam in the 62nd minute. Syamshahril rose above his marker and knocked it in to make it 1-1 from a corner.

Malaysia blew a chance to go in front in the 67th minute when Safiq bin Rahim scooped the ball over the bar.

The penalty miss by Malaysia lifted the spirits of the Vietnamese. Tran Duc Duong scored the winner for Vietnam four minutes before full time when he dazzled into the penalty box and hit a low drive past the onrushing Malaysian keeper Amini bin Ahmad Tabarani.

After the match, Malaysia coach Raja Gopal said the loss of several main players was felt during the first half which led to Vietnam controlling the game and it gave pressure to Malaysian players by giving long and high balls.

"However in the second half, the players showed a better game and showed more threats to the opposing team which led to the equalising goal. We also missed our chance when we did not score the penalty," he added.

Nevertheless, Raja Gopal said it was a good exposure for his team and a good preparation for the next tournament in November.

Meanwhile, Vietnam's coach Tran Doan Dung was happy with the result yesterday and praised the performance of his players.

"Unpredictable weather gave an effect on the Vietnam players. However, we were able to give a good game with high motivation until we created many chances to threaten the opposing team. The key factor to our success is the high spirits and the true spirit of sportsmanship." -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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