Football

Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh players celebrate their quarter-final win after beating 4-2 Huế on penalties on March 17 in Hưng Yên Province. Photo of VFF

HƯNG YÊN — Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh continued its Cinderella story at the National U17 Football Championship after it was the first team to earn a slot in the semi-final round.

Hà Tĩnh beat Huế 4-2 in the penalty shootout after the match finished 2-2 in regular time at the PVF Football Centre in Hưng Yên Province.

After several missed chances, Hà Tĩnh had a threatening attack at the 17th minute. Hoàng Phú sent a ball into the box which came to Huế's defender Hoàng Vũ who tried to clear it but made an own goal by mistake.

Minutes later, Thanh Thảo levelled the result with a smart header from close range.

Đăng Khoa pushed Huế ahead at the 30th minute, sending home a straight shot.

It was tied again during additional time when Đức Quang netted passed Huế goalkeeper Gia Đạt who despite his effort could not block the shot.

In the spot kicks, while Hà Tĩnh were successful with all four finishes, Huế could make it only twice.

Hà Tĩnh entered the tournament as a substitute after qualified Bình Dương asked for a withdrawal at the last minute.

They unexpectedly stood second in Group C, behind title favourite Viettel, after one win, one draw and one loss, and secured a quarter-final berth.

In the semis, they will play Viettel on March 19. Viettel won 1-0 in their meeting in the group round on March 12.

Viettel earlier on March 17 beat Khánh Hòa 3-0. A goal belonged to Công Hậu in the first half and Công Phương in the second while an own goal by Khánh Hòa's defender Lê Quốc Khánh completed the scoring.

In other activities, Sông Lam Nghệ An stormed to the semi-finals after trouncing Hà Nội 4-0. 

Văn Linh, Long Vũ and substitute Quốc Hòa scored for Nghệ An and the other was an own goal of a Hà Nội defender.

Nghệ An will play defending champion PVF, who met no difficulty in winning 4-2 over Bình Phước, in the other semifinal. VNS