Football

Striker Huỳnh Như (left) celebrates her goal in the match between Lank Vilaverdense FC and Famalicao in the BPI League on the weekend. Photo of Vilaverdense

HÀ NỘI - Striker Huỳnh Như set a milestone in her career as the first Vietnamese female player scoring in an overseas league.

Như scored a double and assisted one in her Lank Vilaverdense FC's 3-3 tie against Famalicao in the BPI League on the weekend.

It was the first time the international player was in the starting team in the Portuguese league. After almost three months, she has played in several matches but was coming off the bench mostly when it was near the end of the match.

Famalicao went ahead at the 17th minute with a finish by Inês Maia.

Lank were given a penalty two minutes after the interval and Như was appointed to take the shot that hit the right post before entering the net.

Famalicao's Raquel Fernandes and Antri Violari scored at the 53rd and 57th minutes, respectively.

Như was the best player of the match that saw her in the starting line. Photo of Lank FC

Như narrowed 2-3 at the 72nd minute before assisting Malu Schmidt to score two minutes later.

The Vietnamese, however, could not complete 90 minutes of outstanding play after a leg injury at the 82nd minute mark.

However, it was enough to make her the MVP of the game which saw her first start, first goals and first assist.

The performance of the national team captain was praised by Futbol Portugues Desde Espana which wrote that "Việt Nam international striker Huỳnh Như excelled in her first start for Lank Vilaverdense in the BPI League. In the duel against FC Famalicão, she was key for her team to equalize a score. Until now, she had barely played 50 minutes in the BPI League spread over four games (in addition to 30 in the League Cup). The situation may be different from this performance."

On her Facebook page, Như shared her happiness and wrote that "I always want to score whenever on the field. It requires a lot of time practising. I finally scored my first goal here. I feel a little lucky too. Frankly, it is impossible to say anything now, but I have tried and will try my best to convert my chances into goals."

Như added that her injury was fine and she will be back training soon.

In the next match Lank, No. 6 with eight points, will play Damaiense, who are in third position with 13 points, on November 27. VNS