VietNamNet Bridge – International media, including Singaporean newspapers, have praised the Vietnamese national squad for its impressive performance in the first-leg semi-final match against current AFF Cup champion, Singapore, on Wednesday.

Vietnam (red) and Singapore.

Goal, a website on world football, ran an article entitled “AFF Cup: Singapore Lucky to Draw with Vietnam”. It commented: “Defending champions Singapore were lucky to escape with a scoreless draw in their first-leg semi clash in the AFF Suzuki Cup 2008 against Vietnam at My Dinh Stadium”.

According to Goal, Singapore mainly defended its goal in the first half and didn’t have any chances to score in the first 45.

Like Goal, Reuters also praised the Vietnamese team. It used the world “survival” to describe Singapore’s efforts in the face of “continuous attacks” by Vietnam. According to Reuters, Singaporean defenders worked very hard.

Most Singaporean newspapers used the word “lucky” in their articles about the match. The Straits Times wrote: “Yet his (coach Avramovic) rare public rant, calling his defending champions’ below-par performance at Hanoi’s My Dinh Stadium the team’s ’worst’ of the tournament, is understandable”.

It said that thanks to the talent of goalkeeper Lionel Lewis and defenders, Singapore was able to stay in the match in the first 45 minutes.

Straits Times quoted centre-back Baihakki Khaizan, as saying: ’The coach said we weren’t playing and I don’t think we can argue with that.”

According to Channel New Asia, though Singapore gave better performances in the qualifier round, the team played poorly in the first half of the match.

In related news, after three hours on the plane, the Vietnamese team arrived at Singapore’s Changi Airport on Thursday to prepare for the second-leg semi-final match. They are staying at the Amara Hotel. This afternoon, the team practiced on a small playground around 20-25 minutes by car from the Amara Hotel. On December 20, the team will practice at Singapore National Stadium, where the match will take place.

(Source: TP)