SURABAYA (29 July 2018) – A first-half penalty from midfielder Dinh Thanh Tring the blushes when it gave Vietnam a slim 1-0 win over Cambodia in the opening match of Group A of the AFF Under-16 Championship that was played this afternoon at the Joko Samudro Stadium.
The defending champions just could not get the better of a well-defended Cambodian backline as although they created the chances, lanky striker Vo Nguyen Hoang and Co. just failed to make any of them count.
Playing under almost perfect weather condition here in the town of Gresik, both Vietnam and Cambodia played some intense attacking football much to the delight of the smattering of fans at the stand.
Nguyen Hoang could be faulted with most of the misses with an early 15th minute chance from a defensive mistake saw him lobbing the ball well over the oncoming Cambodian custodian Kong Pheaktra.
Cambodia replied with a wonderful strike off a tight angle from Wut Tola but Vietnam keeper Nguyen Duy Dung had just enough to parry the ball over for a futile corner.
A handball later saw Brunei referee Abdul Hakim Mohd Haidi pointing to the spot as Thanh Trung blasted the ball to the right for Kong to jump the other way.
That goal in the 36th minute was the only bright spark in the match as the second half saw both teams tried hard to get a clear shot in.
Cambodian Ean Pisey was clearly the best player on the pitch with his exquisite ball control and clever distribution.
However, their failure to get close enough to the Vietnam box meant that the score stayed all the way to the end.
