Cambodia (VNA) – Despite losing 1-2 to the Philippines in the last match of Group A on May 9, the Vietnamese women's football team achieved the goal of not losing by a margin of more than two goals to keep their top position of the group and thus advancing to the semi-finals of the 32nd SEA Games.
The Philippines opened the score early in the match, while Vietnam failed to create many dangerous chances,but still managed to equalise in the 40th minute after a mistake bygoalkeeper Olivia McDaniel. From a cross by defender Nguyen Thi My Anh on theleft, McDaniel failed to catch the ball and allowed Bich Thuy to score with arebound shot.
In the 83rd minute, from afree-kick on the left-hand side, midfielder Sara Eggesvik crossed the ball intoVietnam's 5.5m box. Defender Hali Long jumped up to put pressure, forcing TranThi Thu to head the ball into her own net, securing a 2-1 victory for thePhilippines, to the surprise of goalkeeper Tran Thi Kim Thanh.
Vietnam will have two days off before playingin the semifinals on May 12, most likely against the host country Cambodia. InGroup B, Thailand and Cambodia have secured their spots in the next round, andthey will play against each other on May 9 evening, to determine the groupwinner./.
