Football

HÀ NỘI — The runners-up of V.League 1, FLC Thanh Hóa FC, lost to Bali United of Indonesia 1-3 in the third match of Group G of AFC Cup 2018 on Wednesday.

Although playing away from home, Thanh Hóa demonstrated confidence in the game. Edward Ofere had a chance to open the score for Thanh Hóa in the second minute but he failed.

In the 14^th minute, the Vietnamese side enjoyed a penalty following a foul by Demerson on midfielder Ryutaro Karube. However in the 11m spot, striker and captain Pape Omar Faye couldn’t beat goalie Wawan Hendrawan of the hosts. After that, Ofere had the ball but he headed over the crossbar.

Thanh Hóa’s efforts were repaid by a goal of Karube in the 29^th minute. They were awarded a free kick 20 yards (nearly 19m) from the goal and Karube curled the ball into the top corner.

After the break, Bali United played attacks continuously to seek goals. From a counter attack in the 66^th minute, Yabes Roni Malaifani levelled the score for the United. Nick van der Velden flighted the ball over the top and Malaifani controlled the ball on his chest before prodding it past goal keeper Trần Bửu Ngọc.

Malaifani’s goal created a driving force for the Indonesian team to press the visitors.

Taking full advantage of an error of Thanh Hóa’s defence line, Demerson headed home from Fadhil Sausu’s corner in the 72nd minute to help United take the lead of 2-1.

Only two minutes later, Stefano Lilipaly broke the offside trap to fix the match of 3-1 in favour of the Indonesian side.

With this loss, Thanh Hóa’s chance to reach the next round is faint as they have only notched three points after three games. — VNS