>>> U19 Vietnam down reigning runners-up at Asian tournament
Coach Hoang Anh Tuan directed his players to proactively counterattack against their UAE opponents, who were hoping for a win after their opening 0-1 defeat against Iraq.
The UAE went on the offensive right from the first whistle and had a number of opportunities to score in the opening minutes.
Mohamed Rahsid missed two solid chances to put the UAE ahead when he failed to beat Vietnamese keeper Tien Dung in face-to-face situations.
In the 21st minute, the UAE’s ambitions were dealt a big blow as Minh Di made the first goal for Vietnam by converting a nice assist from Quang Hai.
The early opener enabled Vietnamese players to be more confident and to constantly discourage their opponents’ attack combinations on goalie Tien Dung.
It would have been possible for Vietnam to win if not for Trong Dai’s controversial second yellow card in the 57th minute, which allowed Abdulla to tie up the game for the UAE with a successful penalty kick.
Despite playing with just ten men for the remainder of the match, the Vietnamese side fought bravely and successfully resisted constant pressure from the UAE until the final whistle.
With the draw, Vietnam temporarily stood second in Group B with a score of four points, two behind leaders Iraq, who became the first team to advance to the quarterfinals following a resounding 4-0 win against last year’s runners-up, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, earlier the same day.
Vietnam only needs a draw against Iraq in their last group match on October 20 to secure a berth in the quarterfinal round.
