HÀ NỘI — Defending champions Thái Sơn Nam beat Thái Sơn Bắc 5-3 in the opening match of the National Futsal Championship in Đà Nẵng City on Monday.

Both the teams presented their young players with the hope that they would lift their clubs to a higher level.

Thái Sơn Nam faced no challenge to lead 3-0 in the first half with goals by ThấtPhi, Thái Huy and Quang Toàn.

However, they failed to maintain their stability in the second half and Thái Sơn Bắcgrabbed the chance to narrow the score to 2-3. Thái Sơn Nam’s Văn Vũ scored a goal before Thành Tín scored from a penalty.

The rest time saw two more goals for Thái Sơn Nam and one for Thái Sơn Bắc.

“We made many changes to the line-up because of some injured players, while some others did not retain their top form. However, the substitutes did their job,” said Thái Sơn Nam’s coach Nguyễn Bảo Quân.

“Every match is difficult. There is no easy game now like in the past. We did manage to win today, but it was not at all easy,” he added.

Coach Luis Marimon of Thái Sơn Bắc said his players played well although they made simple mistakes leading to at least two goals for Thái Sơn Nam. They also wasted clear chances to score more goals.

He said the team and the coaching board members would need to talk after the match to be better prepared for the coming games.

In an earlier match on Monday, Tân Hiệp Hưng beat Kim Toàn Đà Nẵng 2-1.

Thái Sơn Nam temporarily lead the charts after the first-round match due to their better goal difference.

Thái Sơn Nam will next play Tân Hiệp Hưng; Thái Sơn Bắc will face Sài Gònand Kim Toàn Đà Nẵng will meet Hải Phương Nam Gia Định University. — VNS