SEA Games 31: Vietnam U23s play out goalless draw against the Philippines

Vietnam U23s wasted the chance to snatch Group A’s top spot from the Philippines as the two teams played out a goalless draw in their second match within the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games men’s football event on the evening of May 8.

Vietnam U23 forward Nguyen Tien Linh in action during the match. (Photo: NDO)
Vietnam U23 forward Nguyen Tien Linh in action during the match. (Photo: NDO)

Park Hang-seo’s troops created a bunch of opportunities throughout the match but could not convert any of them into a goal. The result left them at second in the group with four points, behind the Philippines on goal difference.

Vietnam proactively pressured right after the first whistle to seek for an early opener. They threatened the Philippine side several times, but Huynh Cong Den’s shots and Le Van Do’s free-kicks were not accurate enough to bring the hosts off the match.

Shortly before halftime, Do Hung Dung produced a powerful strike but goalkeeper Quincy Kammeraad made a smart save to keep the stalemate unchanged going into the break.

Vietnam continued to enjoy a better share of possession after the interval and came close to opening the scoring several times. However, goalie Kammeraad rescued the Philippine side by blocking Nguyen Thanh Binh’s close-range header and Le Van Do’s shot from outside the box.

The two teams' players battle for the ball. (Photo: NDO)

In the 75th minute, Vu Tien Long drove a powerful long-range strike, but it unexpectedly went wide.

Six minutes later, Nguyen Tien Linh wasted another chance to break the deadlock as he blasted a shot off target in front of the goal.

With time running out, both sides created some more opportunities to score but none of them were successfully converted.

Vietnam will next face Myanmar on May 13 while the Philippines will play Myanmar three days earlier.