The game only had 32-seconds to go when striker Nguyen Minh Tri blasted a sensational winner to hand Vietnam a crucial 4-3 victory in their Group A AFF HDBank Futsal Championship match against Indonesia at the Phu Tho Stadium tonight.
“It was an evenly matched game and I thought that we really deserved to win today. Part of the reason why we won was because of the fans at the stand. They were fantastic,” said Vietnam head coach Miguel Rodrigo.
“With the exception of some five minutes in the game when Indonesia grabbed the lead, we were in full control throughout.”
With the victory, Vietnam now have six points, similar to Indonesia and Myanmar. But Myanmar, who scored a massive 25-0 victory over the Philippines earlier this evening, top the group on superior goal difference. Despite losing, Indonesia are second with Vietnam rolling in third.
In Group A, which comprises five teams, Vietnam, Indonesia and Myanmar are all jostling for the two precious semi-final slots. Advancing to the semi-finals here will also assure the two teams of places in the Asian Futsal Championships in Chinese Taipei next year.
In the last game of the night, played out in front of around 3,000 fans, Vietnam gave their fans much to cheer for when they snatched the lead through Phung Trong Luan in the seventh minute. The goal fired up the Indonesians and in one of their forays upfront, earned a freekick. Aditya Muhammad set up Abdul Rohman Nawawi who blasted low for the equaliser.
Indonesia were far from done and took the fight to their opponents in the second half. Action swung from end to end as the players threw everything they had into the game. Vietnam regained the lead through Trong Luan (32nd minute) but Indonesia levelled the score before surging ahead for the first time in the 35th minute, and the stadium fell silent. Aditya and Ardiansyah were the scorers.
But in the 36th minute, the stadium erupted once again as Trong Luan flicked in the equaliser. The clock was ticking away and time was almost up when the Vietnam fans rejoiced a remarkable winner from Minh Tri.
“We made some mistakes in the game but this is something which the players need to learn,” added Indonesian head coach Vic Hermans.
“When we were in the lead, the players should be patient. Now we have to regroup and get ready for the Myanmar game next.”
Myanmar, meanwhile, delivered a smashing performance today for their second straight win in the tournament. They had beaten Brunei 13-0 the previous day, taking their tally to 38 without conceding any goals.
They were three goals up within the first four minutes and continued to get their shots in to take a 14-0 lead at the break. Pyae Phyo Maung, the striker, led the rampage with five goals (2nd, 15th, 24th, 25th, 34th) with Nyein Min Soe and Khin Zaw Lin contributing a hattrick each. Hein Min Soe, Hlaing Min Tun, Myo Myint Soe, Pyae Phyo Maung (defender) and Ko Ko Lwin struck twice each.
For the Philippines, the loss was their third after going down to Indonesia on the opening day and Vietnam yesterday. They have one more tie against Brunei on Monday.
“We had to pile on the goals to make sure that we will have a fighting chance should some of the games end up in a draw,” said Htay Myint, the head coach of Myanmar. “Now we will have to prepare better for the next game against Indonesia.”
RESULTS
Today
Group B: Thailand bt Malaysia 6-3, Laos bt Timor Leste 6-4
Group A: Vietnam bt Indonesia 4-3, Myanmar bt Philippines 25-0
Oct 27
Group B: Malaysia bt Laos 6-3, Thailand bt Timor Leste 17-2
Group A: Indonesia bt Brunei 9-0, Vietnam bt Philippines 24-0
Oct 26
Group A: Myanmar bt Brunei 13-0, Indonesia bt Philippines 21-0
Group B: Thailand bt Laos 14-0, Malaysia bt Timor Leste 7-2
REMAINING FIXTURES
Oct 29: Group A (Myanmar vs Indonesia, Brunei vs Vietnam)
Oct 30: Group A (Philippines vs Brunei, Vietnam vs Myanmar)
Oct 1: Semi-finals
Oct 3: Final
