Vietnam win their first international title with a one all draw
against Thailand
Vietnam scored a last gasp second-leg equaliser for a 1-1 draw with
Thailand to clinch the Southeast Asian championship for the first time
on Sunday.
With the match tied 2-2 on aggregate and seconds away from extra
time, the dangerous Le Cong Vinh leapt high above the Thai defence to
head home Nguyen Minh Phuong's free kick and spark ecstatic scenes
across Vietnam.
Tens of thousands of people poured onto the gridlocked streets of
Hanoi, waving flags, sounding horns and beating together pots and pans
in wild celebration of the country's first international title.
"I'm so happy and we have a huge, huge party now," Vietnam's
Portuguese coach Henrique Calisto told Reuters while mobbed by raucous
fans.
"I'm not surprised, we gave everything we had. We fought hard and
deserved this win." Thailand, upset 2-1 in the first leg, had most of
the chances and went ahead after 21 minutes when Teerasil Dangda beat
goalkeeper Duong Hong Son to head Sutee Suksomkit's free kick into the
net.
Defender Suree Sukha had his header well saved close to halftime and
Hong Son was again called into action on 59 minutes when he pushed away
Teerathep Winothai's low drive from outside the area.
Thailand paid dearly for their misfiring after conceding a disputed
free kick deep into stoppage time when Vinh collapsed at the feet of
Suree with no apparent contact.
Vinh buried Thailand's hopes of a fourth title when he flicked the
ball into the top corner to stun the visitors and trigger mass revelry
at a sellout My Dinh Stadium.
Thailand's English coach Peter Reid felt luck was not on his side.
"We were the best team but that's how it goes in football," Reid told
Reuters.
"The players were brilliant in this tournament, I'm delighted with
them. A bad refereeing decision in the last leg has cost us the title,
but that's life, I can't complain."
HANOI, Monday (Reuters)
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