Myanmar’s players celebrate after scoring a goal.

Vietnam’s football team Wednesday suffered a 3-2 loss to Myanmar at Ho Chi Minh City’s Thong Nhat Stadium in the International HCMC Football Tournament 2008.

It was the second time Vietnam had lost to Myanmar in more than a decade, but Wednesday’s defeat was a true debacle. It stung worse than when Vietnam’s U.23 team was brushed aside by Myanmar in the penalty shootout of the men’s football semifinals at the 24th Southeast Asian Games in Thailand.

The home squad started confidently and put constant pressure on Myanmar’s team for more than 10 minutes.

An opportunistic scoring chance came four minutes into the match when midfielder Thanh Luong’s free kick sent the ball towards the upper-right corner of Myanmar’s goal but was tipped away by goalkeeper Aung Aung Oo.

In the 14th minute, Vietnam received a shock when Tun Win of Myanmar drew first blood with a score after taking advantage of defender Chi Cong’s poor positioning.

Vietnam fought back fiercely as striker Viet Thang took a beautiful lead from Cong Vinh from the left flank in the 30th minute but failed to beat Aung Oo in the clear.

In the 40th minute, Thang again volleyed Quang Thanh’s cross from the left side but the ball ricocheted off the goal post.

The first half came to a close 1-0 in the visitors’ favor, much to the disappointment of spectators as well as television viewers.

Seesaw battle

In the first minute after the half, Vietnam’s Ngoc Thanh sent the ball too far above the bar when he was in the penalty box one-on-one against the goalie.

In the 63rd minute, Vinh finally headed home the equalizer for thehome team, but opposing striker Yan Paing struck quickly to help Myanmar take the lead again just six minutes later.

The visitors made it more difficult for the home team when they scored the third goal in the 91st minute during stoppage time. Vinh’s second goal of the match one minute later came too little too late as the home team ran out of time soon after, concluding the devastating defeat.

“We lost but it’s just part of football,” Vietnam’s coach Hendrique Calisto said. “We attacked more and controlled the ball 75 percent of the time, but wasted our chances.”

“Myanmar had only three chances but scored three goals. I am still happy with my players’ performance in this match,” Calisto added.

“Vietnam controlled the match better and had more chances, but my players stuck by our strategies and capitalized on good openings,” Myanmar’s coach Marco Antonio said. “It was a hard match for us because Vietnam is a strong team and we are pleased to come out on top.”

In the earlier match, Turkmenistan defeated the Republic of Korea’s team 3-1 in a wet affair amid heavy rain.

Reported by Huu Tho-Quang Huy