HÀ NỘI — Myanmar’s Yan Naing Oo buried Việt Nam’s hope to win the first match of the International U21 Football Tournament’s Group A with his goal during additional time yesterday in HCM City.

Oo took full advantage of a mistake by Vietnamese goalkeeper Quang Tuấn to score a lucky 1-1 draw for the visitors.

Earlier, Dương Văn Hào broke into Myanmar’s defence to score a finish at the far corner for the opener.

Vietnamese players performed well during the first 15 minutes, as they set up to dominate their rivals. However, they were confused when Hà Đức Chinh’s kick was too easy to stop, after Tuấn Hải tried to find the net with a close finish, but it went wide.

The Myanmar side caught up with the pace and also had opportunities which, however, were managed by goalie Tuấn of the host side.

Hào, who was filled in the field, made things change in the 76th minute.

Chinh wasted his chance but, fortunately, the ball came to Hào, whose kick was too hard to resist for keeper Phone Thitsar Min.

It was thought that Việt Nam would have a good start in the tournament until the 93rd mark.

Myanmar had a free kick and the ball came to the centre of the penalty area. Keeper Tuấn ran out and in an attempt to move the ball away, but brought it closer to the net. Oo ran freely from the other side and tapped it in.

“I knew it was a difficult game, but my players performed better than in the friendlies. They met my demands. If we were luckier, we could have had our first win,” said coach Phạm Minh Đức of Việt Nam.

“Myanmar made me surprised, and I believed they will play better in the upcoming matches,” he said.

The coach also said he had no idea about the other team in the group, Yokohama FC from Japan, but he would ask for more effort from the Vietnamese players so they would reach their target of entering the semi-final round. 

Coach Lwin Kyi of Myanmar was happy with his team’s last second goal. But he said he was not surprised, because everything could happen in football. His players, however, did not display all of their abilities in this first game.

The other match of Group A, to be played tomorrow, is between Myanmar and Yokoham.

Group B’s action yesterday saw Thailand’s big win of 6-2 over South Korean Gangwon FC.

Thai coach Ithsara Sritharo did not joke when he said his team came to Việt Nam for a trophy.

His players easily showed the difference in experience with their rival team, who drafted players at the age of 18.

The Thais grabbed four goals in the first 25 minutes with a double by Chenrop Samphaodi. The next 20 minutes they played easily around the field.

The team secured two more goals in the second half and jumped to top position of the group.

At a post-match briefing, coach Sritharo said he was not completely satisfied with the performance of his players, who he said displayed only 70 per cent of their ability.

He noted that his team still showed weak points during the game, which must be improved prior to their training for the next match against Hoàng Anh Gia Lai tomorrow.

Sritharo praised Hoàng Anh Gia Lai, saying the defending champions should be the strongest team this year. — VNS