Coach S. Balachandran’s Harimau
Muda secured a 2-1 victory over PVF Vietnam in the first leg final of the
FAM-Frenz Asia Champions Trophy U-16 2014 at the Thong Nhat Stadium in Ho Chi
Minh City.
The young tigers and PVF Vietnam
will renew their title rivalry in the return leg match at Frenz Stadium in
Janda Baik, Pahang this Sunday.
“I'm satisfied with this score
since we are playing in Vietnam. I would like to congratulate my boys for a
great job here,” said Balachandran, adding that they will now aim to score more
goals back home.
“In the first half, PVF Vietnam
played a defensive game but we managed to find the space to score the opening goal.
I was rather worried about the pitch condition but things got better when the water
receded,” he said.
The kick-off was earlier delayed
for an hour following a heavy downpour and when play got underway there was
little the Malaysians could do on a water logged pitch.
On the opposite end, the Vietnamese
seem to have adapted fast and showed glimpses of brilliance on the wet pitch as
they went about firing on all cylinders.
Striker Pham Trong Hua squandered
two chances that came his way, the first in the third minute when his header
went wide after goalkeeper Muhd Asri Muhammad failed to latch onto the ball,
and the second five minute later when he shot into the side net.
The young tigers, however,
shrugged off the early scare by showing plenty of grit as they battled back to
silence the estimated 500 home fans with a penalty in the 39th
minute after midfielder Najib Abdullah was brought down inside the penalty box
by defender Le Thanh Phong.
Striker Kogileswaran Raj packed
enough power from the spot to send goalkeeper Phan Van Bieu the wrong way for
Harimau Muda Under-16’s opening goal and his 14th in the tournament
as the Malaysians grabbed a 1-0 half time lead.
The Vietnamese put that disappointment
behind in the second half and rocked the Malaysians confidence with a Le Ngoc
Bao header in the 71st minute after a receiving a cross from Thanh
Phong from the right flack.
But that joy only short-lived just
as it erupted into wild celebrations much earlier as Harimau Muda U-16 responded
immediately three minutes later through Muhammad Najmuddin Samat who cleverly
maneuvered his way past an onrushing goalkeeper Van Bieu to put the ball into
goal and in the process seal the game 2-1 in favour of the visitors.
PVF Vietnam tried all they could in
the remaining minutes in search for the equalizer but was denied by the
Malaysian defenders bent on returning home with this slim victory.
Meanwhile, defending champions
Chonburi FC and Frenz United Malaysia played to a goalless draw in the first
leg of their third-fourth placing match at the Chonburi Stadium on Sunday.
The return leg match will be played
on Saturday, August 30, 2014 at Frenz Stadium (Kick-off time 4.30pm).
#ACT2014 #FrenzUnited
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