HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam were forced to a 2-2 draw against Indonesia, although they took a 2-0 lead in the early minutes of their friendly match yesterday in Yogyakarta City, Indonesia.

It was a first meet for the two coaches, who were player and coach of Việt Nam 18 years ago.

At the Tiger Cup (former name of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup) in 1998, now Việt Nam head coach Nguyễn Hữu Thắng was the captain of Việt Nam, while Indonesian manager Alfred Riedl was the head coach.

Despite visitors, Vietnamese players were confident to begin their second friendly within four days.

They quickly set up their lead just four minutes into the game.

Lê Văn Thắng, who is Việt Nam’s premier league’s best local striker, scored a opener from a long distance.

An Indonesian defender kicked the ball away, but it went to Thắng, who managed the ball and made an outstanding 30m shot, which left all of the Indonesian defence behind to enter the net. Goalkeeper Andritany Ardhiyasa dived to his left to save, but it was out of his reach.

Nearly 10 minutes later the score was 2-0 for the visiting side.

From a counter-attack in the left wing, midfielder Nguyễn Trọng Hoàng brought a smart pass to the right to Vũ Minh Tuấn, whose close finish touched keeper Ardhiyasa’s leg before going into the net.

After two goals, Việt Nam tried to continue their counter-attack, but failed to maintain their lead.

Vietnamese goalie Trần Nguyên Mạnh suffered two goal losses within two minutes from the 26th to 28th, partly due to mistakes by the defenders.

As usual, the defence line was always Việt Nam’s weak point in most tournaments.

The hosts were given a free kick and Zunham Zamrun made a perfect shot to Mạnh’s high right corner, narrowing the score to 1-2.

Meanwhile, Irfan Bachdim punished Việt Nam, who had set loose their focus in seconds, with a finish from a narrow angle.

The second half was strongly affected by a heavy rain, which prevented players of both sides from scoring.

Việt Nam will return and stay in HCM City for several days before they begin their two-week training course in South Korea starting on October 15.

Việt Nam will meet Indonesia again in their second-leg friendly match on November 8 at Mỹ Đình Stadium in Hà Nội.

Việt Nam and Indonesia are to take part in the AFF Cup next month. — VNS