SGGPO
The heavy 1-4 defeat at home by Sabah (representative from Malaysia) on the evening of November 9 caused coach Chu Dinh Nghiem and his team to lose the top spot in Group H of the 2023-24 AFC Cup.
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| Captain Joseph Mpande's efforts could not help Hai Phong escape defeat. PHOTO: AFC |
Before entering the 4th round of the group stage, Hai Phong and Sabah both had 6 points, but the Hai Phong team ranked higher thanks to a better secondary index. Therefore, the rematch between the two teams in Malaysia will directly affect the chances of both sides passing the group stage. It is regrettable for Hai Phong that they will not have the services of 3 pillars, including goalkeeper Nguyen Dinh Trieu, center back Benjamin Van Meurs and midfielder Dam Tien Dung due to injury.
However, Hai Phong players still played better on away ground. In the 2nd minute, Nguyen Huu Son escaped down the left wing, then shot diagonally, sending the ball close to the post of Sabah's goal. However, the weakness of the defense, which has conceded 8 goals in the last 4 matches, caused Hai Phong to concede a goal in the 19th minute. Pham Manh Hung and his teammates pushed too high, opening up space for Daniel Tings to escape and then get past goalkeeper Nguyen Van Toan to score the opening goal.
From a free kick in the 37th minute, Kwang Minko crossed the ball to Darren Lock to head it into Hai Phong's net, doubling the gap for Sabah. Also with a high ball, the representative from Malaysia scored a goal to increase the score to 3-0 in the 71st minute. This time, Ramdani crossed the ball for center-back Gabriel Peres to head the ball, causing goalkeeper Van Toan to pick the ball out of the net for the third time. What Hai Phong could do was to shorten the score to 1-3 by striker Yuri Mamute in the 84th minute. Before the match ended, Jafri Firdaus promptly put his name on the scoreboard, sealing a 4-1 victory for Sabah.
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Goalkeeper Van Toan had to accept 4 goals on away field. |
The Malaysian team raised their total points to 9, temporarily leading Group H, and directly pushing Hai Phong to second place. The Hai Phong team was also caught up by PSM Makassar (Indonesia), when they beat Hougang United (Singapore) 3-1 in the early match on November 9. In the next match on November 30, Coach Chu Dinh Nghiem's team is expected to have a "less safe than dangerous" away trip to PSM Makassar's home field.
In Group H, only the top team will qualify for the next round. Meanwhile, the second-placed team must calculate the results with the second-placed teams in Group F and Group G. Currently, Phnom Penh Crown (Cambodia) is leading with 9 points.
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