Football

Thanh Hóa celebrates its U19 national championship title. It beat Sông Lam Nghệ An 1-0 in the final on May 4 in Tây Ninh Province. — Photos of VFF

HÀ NỘI — Nguyễn Ngọc Mỹ scored the only goal to help Thanh Hóa beat Sông Lam Nghệ An 1-0 and lift the National U19 Football Championship trophy on May 4 in Tây Ninh Province.

The two teams played neck-and-neck in the first half with the most threatening opportunity going to Nguyên Hoàng of Sông Lam Nghệ An at the 18th minute.

His free kick near the penalty box hit the cross bar of Thanh Hóa and went wide.

In the second half, Thanh Hóa pushed the pace with consecutive attempts. Five minutes after the interval, Hà Minh Đức received a ball from a set piece. He headed it to Mỹ in the box and the talented forward's tap-in easily found the back of the net.

Nguyễn Ngọc Mỹ of Thanh Hóa (left) scores the only goal of the match. He was voted the MVP of the tournament.

Sông Lam Nghệ An fought back searching for an equaliser but they failed to convert their opportunities into goals. Goalkeeper Lê Anh Tuấn denied all of their finishes.

Hà Nội and SHB Đà Nẵng shared third place.

In addition to the championship title and a bonus of VNĐ100 million (US$4,300), Thanh Hóa also took home individual awards. Minh Đức was the top scorer with five goals. Ngọc Mỹ was the MVP while Anh Tuấn was the best goalkeeper.

The tournament lured 12 teams competing in three groups from April 22 to May 4. — VNS