CHAMPS VIETNAM WIN GROUP B; FILI IN SEMIS

In front of a packed audience at the My Dinh National Stadium, the lone strike from Nguyen Vu Phong in the 32nd minute separated the two sides as Vietnam chief coach Henrique Calisto stated his disappointment that Singapore had to make an early exit.

“It is a pity that Singapore have to go out. They have good players, they have a good coach and they are a good team,” said Calisto, whose team had to play for almost the last half hour of the game with ten men.

“But tonight, I have to congratulate my players as they are the real heroes of the team, they played at 100% to their maximum. They attacked when they are supposed to and they also defended when they are expected.

“There were several injuries in the team even before we started so the constant stoppages towards the end of the game were not a ruse on our part. It is not my style to play like that. The players were really injured.”

In the match which Singapore just needed a draw to progress while the hosts and the defending champions require a win to make the next round, Vietnam did not waste time in going forward.

Putting in Bui Tan Truong ahead of regular keeper Duong Hon Son, the home team buoyed by the 40,000 capacity crowd pushed hard through Nguyen Trong Hoang started his first game of the campaign.

In the 11th minute, Trong Hoang broke through the Singapore defence marshalled by Baihakki Khaizan but keeper Hassan Sunny stood his ground for the block.

Several minutes later, a shot from captain Ngueyn Minh Phuong did not find the intended target while in the 23d minute, Singapore replied through Mustafic Fahrudin but his header narrowly missed the crossbar.

Singapore then created their best chance of the first half but Agu Casimir’s shot after beating his marker was blocked by Tan Truong.

As the Lions pushed forward, they left gaps at the back and in the 32nd minute, Vietnam made good on a quick counter attack to score when Trong Hoang ran for almost Vu Phong who slid the ball under Hassan.

With the score 1-0 to their advantage at the half, Vietnam were still not showing at signs of slowing down as they ran the Singapore defence ragged with their quick passes and fast movements.

But in their eagerness to defend their lead, Trong Hoang picked up his second yellow card of the game for a foul on Jumaat Jantan which resulted in Vietnam having to play with a man less from the 64th minute onwards.

Unperturbed Pham Thanh Luong and Vu Phong all had chances to add to the scoreline but Vietnam were resolute in making sure that they do not let this one slip as the score remained to their advantage to the end.

With the loss, Singapore join Thailand as the two defending champions out of contention of this year’s crown.

“The match is very close as always. I think that our players have done enough not to lose the game. We made that one mistake and we paid for it at the end,” added Singapore chief coach Radojko Avramovic.

“I think that we created enough chances in every game. The only thing perhaps is that we did not succeed in scoring enough goals.”

In the meantime, the Philippines were held to a scoreless draw by Myanmar in the match that was played in Nam Dinh – enough for them to take the runners-up spot in the group.

VIETNAM
Bui Tan Truong, Doan Viet Cuong (Tran Dinh Dong 77th), Le Phuoc Tu, Vu Nhu Thanh, Nguyen Trong Hoang, Nguyen Minh Phuong, Huynh Quanh Thanh (Truong Dinh Luat 66th), Nguyen Vu Phong, Pham Thanh Luong (Nguyen Minh Chau 66th), Phan Van Tai Em, Nguyen Anh Duc.

SINGAPORE
Hassan Sunny, Baihakki Khaizan, Emuejeraye Precious, Mohd Noh Alam Shah, Aleksandr Duric, Agu Casimir, Mustafic Fahrudin, Mohd Shahril Ishak, Jumaat Jantan, Mohd Rosman Sulaiman, Mohd Safuwan Baharudin (Mohd Khairul Amri Kamal 46th, Mohd Ridhuan Muhammad 77th).

AFF SUZUKI CUP 2010, FINAL ROUND RESULTS and FIXTURES

Group A – Jakarta, Indonesia (GELORA BUNG KARNO STADIUM, JAKARTA)

1 Dec THAILAND 2 LAOS 2/ INDONESIA 5 MALAYSIA 1

4 Dec THAILAND 0 MALAYSIA 0/ LAOS 0 INDONESIA 6

7 Dec MALAYSIA 5 LAOS 1/ INDONESIA 2 THAILAND 1

STANDINGS

1. INDONESIA 9pts (+11)

2. MALAYSIA 4pts (=)

3. THAILAND 2pts (-1)

4. LAOS 1pt (-10)

Group B – Hanoi, Vietnam (MY DINH NATIONAL STADIUM, HANOI)

2 Dec SINGAPORE 1 PHILIPPINES 1/ VIETNAM 7 MYANMAR 1

5 Dec SINGAPORE 2 MYANMAR 1/ PHILIPPINES 2 VIETNAM 0

8 Dec MYANMAR 0 PHILIPPINES 0/ VIETNAM 1 SINGAPORE 0

STANDINGS

1. VIETNAM 6pts (+5)

2. PHILIPPINES 5pts (+2)

3. SINGAPORE 4pts (=)

4. MYANMAR 1pt (-7)

Semi-Final, First-Leg –

15 Dec Malaysia vs Vietnam (2000hrs)

Semi-Final, First-Leg –

16 Dec Philippines vs Indonesia (2000hrs)

Semi-Final, Second-Leg –

18 Dec Vietnam vs Malaysia (2000hrs)

Semi-Final, Second-Leg –

19 Dec Indonesia vs Philippines (2000hrs)