Football

HÀ NỘI — Sông Lam Nghệ An (SLNA) tied goalless with Persija Jakarta of Indonesia in the third match of Group H of the AFC Cup at the Vinh Stadium yesterday.

SLNA entered this game without key players such as goalies Trần Nguyên Mạnh, Lê Văn Hùng and midfielder Võ Ngọc Toàn who are still recovering from injuries. However, coach Nguyễn Đức Thắng researched his rival carefully to develop suitable tactics.

Taking full advantage of playing on their hometurf, SLNA quickly dominated the game in the first half.

Phan Văn Đức is a prominent name in the attack line of SLNA. The footballer of the national U23 team continuously made dangerous situations for the defence line of Persija Jakarta with skilful attacks. However, Đức and his teammates showed their hurry in shots into box.

Hồ Tuấn Tài also had golden chances to open the scoring for the hosts, but the No 10 blazed his shots narrowly over the goal.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian team also created several chances to score goals but they failed.

After the break, the hosts SLNA still put pressure on Indonesian rivals. However midfielder Hồ Sỹ Sâm was dismissed after receiving his second yellow card in the 62nd minute and SLNA were forced to play out the remaining of the game with 10 men.

Despite playing with more players, Persija Jakarta couldn’t earn any goals.

With this win, the Vietnamese side retain their top position as they achieved their third clean-sheet in succession with seven points. Persija Jakarta are the runners-up with four points, followed by Johor Darul Ta’zim with three points and Tampines Rovers with zero points.

The two sides will meet again next week on March 14 at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium. — VNS