NGOC CHAM NETS FIVE GOALS TO LEAD VIETNAM INTO SEMIS

Vietnam, who whipped the Philippines by a similar margin in their opening encounter two days ago, were just as fiery today and easily outplayed the Malaysians.

In fact, had it not been for the rain, Malaysia may have suffered an even bigger loss.

Malaysia suffered a blow three minutes from the end when Normasyirah Zahari was red carded for a second booking.

For Vietnam, the victory confirms their place in the semifinals eventhough they have one more group match against Indonesia on Monday.

The second berth however remains open to all three other teams in the group.

Vietnam top the group with six points, but Indonesia and Malaysia both have three points each.

The Philippines have lost two matches and still have a mathematical chance of advancing if they beat Malaysia, but only if they score enough goals to make up the goal difference.

In tonight’s match, Vietnam took charge of the first half and rammed five goals in 45 minutes.

Striker Do Thi Ngoc Cham blasted a hattrick (26th, 33rd, 34th) while Doan Thi Kim Chi scored a brace (8th, 25th) to take a comfortable lead into the locker room.

By the time the game was over, Ngoc Cham had treated herself to two more goals.

The other two goals in the second half came from Nguyen Thi Kim Thien (58th) and Le Thi Hong Nga (80th).

Vietnam assistant coach Ngo Le Bang said that his players had turned in a good performance despite the heavy rain.

“As we did in our first game, we tried to play our best. And that’s what we did today. Overall, I was satisfied with our win and happy to have made the semifinals.”

“Our aim today was to give an improved performance compared to the previous game,” added Le Bang.

Meanwhile, Malaysian coach Mohd Shah Norbit congratulated his opponents.

“They are a very good team. We tried the best that we could but the weather affected our game. Our plan was to be defensive to try and reduce the number of goals, but they still managed to get the goals. Vietnam were simply too good,” said Mohd Shah.

VIETNAM: Do Thi Thu Trang, Nhieu Thuy Linh, Nguyen Thi Mai Lan, Tran Thi Kim Hong, Dao Thi Mien, Do Thi Ngoc Cham, Van Thi Thanh, Doan Thi Kim Chi (c), Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh, Le Thi Thuong, Le Thi Hong Nga

MALAYSIA: Nur Atiqa Lilia Abdullah, Zaryatie Zakaria, Rozeinie Dusileh, Saidatul Nabila Sani, Elizabeth Oyau, Steffi Sarge Kaur Sergeant Singh, Malini Nordin, Angela Kais (c), Normasyirah Zahari, Atin Surang, Nur Akmal Anuar