Song Lam Nghe An Football Club (SLNA F.C.) left V.B. Sports Club from Republic of Maldives behind in the 2011 AFC Cup With an easy 4-2 victory at home last week to reached the top position in Group F with 12 points after six matches.
SLNA F.C. changed two-third of the match into a tense situation. It only took the home team 12 minutes to score a goal to break the deadlock. Hong Viet ran toward the right side and passed the ball accurately touching Fagan’s head, only to leave goalie Imran Mohamed finding it too difficult to catch the ball.
Nhu Thuat unexpectedly rushed in and earned the first score for SLNA F.C. After the first goal, coach Huu Thang’s footballers played leisurely but continually placed the goal of the V.B. Sports Club under pressure. At the 28th minute, Hong Viet had a chance to face Imran Mohamed but could not get the second goal.
The second half saw no positive changes of the away team in the beginning. This half was different from 45 minutes of the first one, because a series of goals was carried out by SLNA F.C’s footballers, who had advantages of the leading position in the match.
At the 51st minute, a sudden kick of Nhu Thuat made Imran Mohamed and midfielder Douglas puzzled. Douglas then got a mistake when passing the ball to midfielder Cong Manh, and helping him easily lead the ball to the empty goal of the away team. From the 57th to 60th minute, it was only in three minutes but Thierry and Kavin respectively widened the gap between two teams with the third and fourth goals.
With a convincing 4-0 lead, SLNA F.C. was so confident in their impending victory that they played very carelessly while waiting for the whistle from the referee. Making use of this situation, the away team tried their best to create a noticeable difference in the last minutes of the match. At the 88th minute, after the foul of Nhu Thuat in the penalty area, Lareef successfully scored a penalty and closed the gap. In the extra time, Desmond broke out of the closely mark from the home team’s defenders and finished with an angled shot. This shot defeated goalkeeper Nguyen Manh and brought the second goal for the away team.
Beating V.B. Sports Club with a 4-2 win, SLNA F.C. did not only have a right to continue with the next round but also stand at the top position of Group F. In the other match of the same group, Sriwijaya from Indonesia beat TSW Pegasus from Hong Kong 3-2 and could move to the next round with 10 points got from this round.
