The Golden Star Warriors had almost 70% of possession and twenty shots per goal but could not find a way to pierce Singapore's defence. (Photo: VNA) The GoldenStar Warriors had almost 70% of possession and twenty shots per goal butcould not find a way to pierce Singapore's defence.
Korean coachPark Hang-seo made eight changes to the starting line-up from the 3-0 winagainst Malaysia on December 27 in Hanoi.
Veterans DangVan Lam, Que Ngoc Hai and captain Do Hung Dung stayed in the starting 11.
On the otherside of the pitch, Singapore's Takayuki Nishigaya started Hassan Sunny in goal,replacing Hafiz Nor, and Shawal Anuar with Ryhan Stewart and Irfan Fandi indefence.
The firstdangerous chance of the match came to Vietnam in the 11th minute when Nguyen VanQuyet's shot forced Hassan Sunny to parry. The rebound reached Pham Tuan Hai,but his shot went straight at Sunny.
Sunny wastroubled again six minutes later when Vu Van Thanh fired a vicious shot outsidethe box, but the Singaporean keeper made a simple save.
Deep intheir half, Singapore looked for opportunities on the counter. In the 26thminute, from Shakir Hamzah's left-wing cross, Ilhan Fandi tried a shot fromoutside the box, but the ball went wide.
Vietnamreplied just minutes later when Van Quyet seemed to have capitalised on aSingaporean defender's mistake. From 25-metres, the Hanoi FC captain'sshot went way over the bar.
Just beforethe break, Van Thanh was freed in the right wing by Hung Dung and crossed insidethe box. The powerful cross hit a Singapore defender and rebounded to the sidenetting.
Heavyfirepower was brought on by Park after the break, in the form of superstarsNguyen Quang Hai and Phan Van Duc, who replaced a fatigued Hung Dung and adismal Chau Ngoc Quang.
The changes,however, did not work immediately. Nguyen Hoang Duc and Nguyen Tien Linhwere brought on in the 58th minute.
Just fourminutes after Duc and Linh were subbed on, the two combined and found Sunny'snet. However, the goal did not stand because the referee paused the match afterVan Thanh was brought down.
Secondslater, Vietnam won a free kick near the six-yard box. But from hisfavourite position, Quang Hai tried a lobbed shot that went just wide.
Tien Linh,who Ngoc Hai jokingly compared to Argentina's Lautaro Martinez for his missedopportunities, had around five clear chances after he was subbed on.
In the 65thminute, Linh could have won it with a belter for Vietnam, but his volleyoutside the box was bravely saved by Hassan Sunny, who went down injured later.
Ten minuteslater, it was Linh again who had time and space on his side, but the striker'sshot was too rushed and not on target.
Luckwas not on Vietnam's side again in the 84th minute, when Hoang Duc's30-metre shot beat Hassan Sunny, but the effort hit the post to the agony ofthe Vietnamese supporters at Jalan Besar Stadium.
Vietnam hadtwo more chances to win the game, but Tien Linh squandered both and the matchfinished 0-0.
With thisresult, Vietnam's position at the top of Group B still stands, but they are notyet qualified for the knockout stage.
In theunlikely event of the Golden Star Warriors losing by seven goals at home toalready-eliminated Myanmar on January 3, as well as a draw in the match betweenSingapore and Malaysia happens, Park's team will be eliminated.
However, awin is needed for Vietnam to avoid trickier opponents in the knockout stage, aswell as rebuild confidence for the squad./.
VNA
