Football

Midfielder Nguyễn Tuấn Anh (centre) ends his two-year goal drought with a banana-shaped finish in Thép Xanh Nam Định's 3-3 draw with Singapore's Tampires Rovers in their AFC Champions League Two match in Singapore. Photos of AFC

HÀ NỘI — Coach Vũ Hồng Việt blamed the artificial ground for Thép Xanh Nam Định's unexpected 3-3 draw against hosts Tampines Rovers in their AFC Champions League Two meet on October 24 in Singapore.

He said Nam Định players struggled to show their technique and perform well tactically, leading to a poor performance.

"The artificial turf greatly impacted our playing style," said Việt. "We had only two training sessions to get used to the field in Singapore, so the players couldn't adapt. But anyway, one point from the match is pretty good and will help the team look forward to the next matches in AFC Champions League Two."

The former national team assistant coach also said that defenders, who had kept their net safe in the two previous games, did not perform as well third time around.

"In this match, Nam Định conceded three goals. This is a big problem that we must improve in the coming matches. We prefer playing in attack, so the next match at home we will continue to this style and aim to win."

Nam Định showed determination to fight back twice to secure a point that saw them stay one ahead of Tampines Rovers at the halfway stage.

The home side survived a scare in the opening minutes when Kyoga Nakamura lost possession to Joseph Mpande in the penalty box, but goalkeeper Syazwan Buhari came to his rescue by denying the Ugandan forward from point blank range.

Tampines recovered in style, opening the scoring in the 12th minute when Glenn Kweh broke through on the right flank, before finding Shah Shahiran with a cutback for a precise finish into the bottom corner.

Taufik Suparno missed a glorious opportunity to double Tampines’ lead in the 23rd minute when he got his touch completely wrong with the goal left wide open, but Seia Kunori ensured the miss was quickly forgotten as the Japanese forward smashed home from distance a minute later.

To their credit, Nam Định refused to give up and their determination saw them score twice to take the game into half time on level terms.

Nguyễn Xuân Son turned in Lucas Silva’s pinpoint cross in the 32nd minute. Mpande nodded home from a corner kick ten minutes later.

The end-to-end action resumed in the second half with both sides seeking the next goal.

It was Tampines who regained their lead in the 62nd minute, when Kweh’s corner kick found Shuya Yamashita at the back post, with the defender producing a thumping header to beat keeper Trần Nguyên Mạnh.

Nam Định bounced back yet again with substitute Nguyễn Tuấn Anh allowed to turn inside the box in the 76th minute before steering his shot past a stranded Syazwan.

In the other Group D game, Bassel Jradi scored the only goal as Bangkok United continued their unbeaten start with a 1-0 win over Hong Kong Premier League champions, Lee Man at Mongkok Stadium.

Bassel Jradi scores a winner for Bangkok United during a match against Hong Kong champions Lee Man on October 24.

Bangkok United top the table with nine points, Nam Định are second with five, followed by Tampines Rovers on four and Lee Man with zero.

In the next fixture on November 6, Nam Định and Tampines Rovers will meet again at the Thiên Trường Stadium, while Bangkok United will host Lee Man at their home ground of Thammasat Stadium. VNS