Three-time champions Viet Nam were held to a 1-1 draw by Myanmar in the women’s football competition at the 25th SEA Games in the Lao capital Vientiane yesterday.

The draw left Viet Nam, who had thrashed Malaysia 8-0 in their first match, in second place with four points, making the route to their fifth final more difficult.

In the five-team round robin tournament, the two top teams will qualify for the final.

Myanmar, who drew with Laos and Thailand in earlier matches, are third with three points from three draws.

Viet Nam, who won the biennial event in 2001, 2003, and 2005 and have experienced but ageing players like Chi and Nguyen Thi Mai Lan, both playing in their fifth SEA Games, possessed the ball for much of the match but squandered some easy opportunities.

Myanmar opted to attack on the break to take advantage of their youthful players, and tackled the skillful Vietnamese midfielders hard, cutting off supply to strikers Chi and Le Thi Oanh.

The match got off to a slow start with the first 20 minutes seeing almost no chances created by either side except for a run by Chi into the penalty area that was flagged offside by the lineswoman.

Viet Nam gradually increased the pressure on Myanmar’s physically strong defence. In the 22nd minute, midfielder Van Thi Thanh’s pass released Oanh inside the box but she shot straight into the Myanmar keeper May Khin Yamin.

Chi and Oanh seemed to be cut off from each other and seldom exchanged passes.

Viet Nam were denied a goal in the 35th minute when Oanh’s header hit the crossbar. Four minutes later Viet Nam’s head coach Chen Yun Fa and the coaching staff were worried after Chi hit a cement patch outside the pitch. But fortunately she returned with a bandage on her head.

Viet Nam (white) were held to a 1-1 draw by Myanmar in the women’s football competition at the 25th SEA Games. (Photo: VNN)

Fat made a change in the second half, sending in striker Minh Nguyet for the ineffective Oanh. Ten minutes into the half Nguyet was fouled and Viet Nam got a free kick 18m from the Myanmar goal.

Chi, who also scored off a free kick in the 8-0 thumping of Malaysia, once again demonstrated her wonderful dead ball ability by driving the ball past the Myanmar wall and the right upright to put Viet Nam ahead.

Myanmar pressed forward in search of the equaliser and made two substitutions. But they were not good enough to move up from central positions and resorted to long balls that did little to trouble Vietnamese keeper Dang Thi Kieu Trinh.

But off a corner in the 75th minute, the referee harshly awarded a penalty to Myanmar after a collision, rather than a foul, between Trinh and a Myanmar player in the Vietnamese box.

Wah converted the penalty to equalise and grab a valuable point to keep her team’s final hopes alive.

Fat replaced Muon with Nguyen Thi Kim Tien but Viet Nam’s desperate efforts to find the goal proved in vain.

Viet Nam have two difficult matches remaining against defending champions Thailand on Friday and hosts Laos on Sunday. They need full points from the two matches to enter the final.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News