Hosts Binh Duong swept aside Quang Ninh 3-1 in the semifinals of the U21 National Football Tournament on Friday at Go Dau Stadium.

A downpour before the match caused both Binh Duong and Quang Ninh to begin cautiously, and the pace of the match was slow.

The hosts, however, looked more confident while the visitors struggled for control.

Nine minutes into the match, a lapse in concentration allowed Binh Duong to go ahead with Ngoc Hung’s header.

Buoyed by lead and the advantage of home soil, the hosts adjusted better to the slipper field although Quang Ninh had more possession of the ball.

Quang Ninh’s passing, in particular, was unimpressive, always falling fall short of Binh Duong’s penalty area.

Not really pushed, Binh Duong was in no hurry and didn’t have to waste much energy. However, Duc Tai and Van San kept troubling Quang Ninh on the right and left flanks.

Only goalkeeper Duy Binh’s excellent work helped Quang Ninh avoid conceding more goals in the first half.

Quang Ninh showed greater effort in the second half but their attacks were very simple and caused no trouble for Binh Duong.

Concentrating on attacks, Quang Ninh’s defense became weaker and Duc Tai doubled the score in a fast counterattack early in the second half.

At this time, Quang Ninh had nothing to lose, so it began attacking even more. This paid off with a powerful shot by substitute Cong Huy from some 25 meters away finding the net five minutes from full time.

However, Quang Ninh’s hopes of equalizing the score ended shortly after when a long ball from Binh Duong’s goalkeeper Anh Hoang confused Quang Ninh’s defenders and Duc Tai quickly took the chance to score his second goal of the match.

Quang Ninh and T&T Hanoi, both of whom were participating the final rounds of the tournament for the first time, share the third place and a cash prize of VND60 million each.

Speaking after the match, coach Nguyen Quang Hoan of Quang Ninh said, “It was a pity my players couldn’t employ their strategies because of the slippery field.

“However, the third place at the event this year is a big success for Quang Ninh and I am happy with it.”

“We studied Quang Ninh’s previous matches very carefully,” Binh Duong’s coach Tran Tan Thong said. “We found that Quang Ninh employed a defensive strategy and depended very much on Van Hieu and Van Vu.

“So I asked my players to ‘take good care’ of those two players and we were successful in the semis.”

After the final on September 27, the best players of the tournament will be picked to represent Vietnam against Iran, China, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia in the third U21 International Football Tournament in October, also in Binh Duong.

Both the national and the international U21 tournaments are sponsored by Thanh Nien.

Reported by Trung Duong