Becamex Binh Duong suffered their third defeat at the Asian Football Confederation Champions League yesterday, losing to Jeonbuk Hyundai of South Korea 0-3.

Captain Lee Dong-gook scored a double after Eninho opened the scorecard just 16 minutes into the match.

The Vietnamese champions could not overcome the K.League winners during the whole match.

Binh Duong, which were playing without their best players, also faced a big challenge in the form of cold weather, which was different from the warm weather in their home town.

The team’s third loss kept Binh Duong at the bottom of Group E, while Jeonbuk Hyundai are at the top with seven points.

In another match of the group, Naoki Wako’s header two minutes into injury time secured Kashiwa Reysol a 2-1 win over Shandong Luneng at the Kashiwa Hitachi Stadium. The win ensured that the J.League remains in a strong position to advance to the knockout stage of the league.

U23s grab second draw in friendly

Viet Nam’s U-23 squad yesterday tied 1-1 with V.League 1’s Dong Nai, during a friendly match held at the Go Dau Stadium in the Binh Duong Province.

Despite being considered a strong side, the U-23s suffered an unexpected goal loss during the 20th minute when Dong Nai striker Hai Anh made a strong header from a close distance.

Toshyia Miura’s team established their domination with consecutive attacks and levelled the result near the end of the first half with the help of Ngoc Thang.

However, it was all they could do against the team that is placed at the bottom of the rankings table.

Earlier, they had pocketed two wins and one draw during their friendly tour in preparation for the upcoming Asia U-23 Football Championship’s qualifier in Malaysia.

Their next match will be against Thailand on March 22.

Midfielder suspended for spitting at player

Midfielder Tran Chi Cong was suspended for three matches for spitting at defender Tran Van Hoc of SHB Da Nang, during an eighth-round Toyota V.League 1 match on February 14, according to a decision made yesterday by the Viet Nam Football Federation.

Cong of Dong Tam Long An will not play with his team, who will next meet Can Tho, Quang Ninh Coal and Dong Nai.

He has been also fined VND10 million (US$470) for his bad behaviour.

Cong moved to Dong Tam Long An after ending his contract with Becamex Binh Duong last year.

He quickly became a key defending player at the Long An Stadium.

Dong Tam Long An are the only team in the national premier league that have not lost a match this season.

Cong has also scored two goals.

Top seeds win at HDBank tourney

Defending champion Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son easily logged his first win at the HDBank International Open Chess Tournament held yesterday in HCM City.

Son, the third seed in the tournament, defeated teammate Tu Hoang Thai and will play against Nolte Rolando of the Philippines today.

Second seed Le Quang Liem also won, beating teammate Tran Manh Tien and will face Wynn Zaw Htun of Myanmar next.

The two Vietnamese masters shared the leading position after the first round, with top seed Li Chao from China, who defeated Htay Min Lwin of Myanmar yesterday.

The fifth HDBank event, with its prize money of US$35,000, has drawn 85 chess masters from 14 countries, including 44 Vietnamese. It will end on March 23.

Source VNA/VNS

Viet Nam’s U23s tied 0-0 with Uzbekistan’s U22s in a friendly match on Saturday at HCM City’s Thong Nhat Stadium.

Viet Nam’s U23s tied 0-0 with Uzbekistan’s U22s in a friendly match on Saturday – Photo: VNN

The match was part of both teams preparations for the Asian U23 Football Championship qualifiers in Malaysia later this month.

The hosts and visitors both created opportunities, but failed to convert them.

Uzbekistan’s coaching board did not take part in the post-match briefing as the team had to take fly home.

Viet Nam’s Japanese coach Toshyia Miura seemed pleased with what his players, although they missed a number of chances.

Miura said it was a good match for the young Vietnamese players for about 85 minutes, and they showed improvements from then match against Indonesia a few days ago. However, mistakes began creeping in, and the players needed to focus more on the game.

The U23s will play other friendlies against V-League 1 side Dong Nai on March 17, and Thailand’s U23s five days later.

Source VNS/VNN

Viet Nam’s national U23 team will meet U23 Uzbekistan in a friendly match in HCM City today in preparation for the 2016 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers.

Viet Nam’s head coach Toshiya Miura said at a press conference yesterday that he would change his line-up for this match in order to find the best formation for the AFC event.

He also said that it will be a difficult match for Viet Nam because Uzbekistan are a strong team.

However, Viet Nam will try their best against Uzbekistan on home turf.

Miura added his team have recovered their strength after a hard training course so they will be fit following their match against U23 Indonesia at My Dinh Stadium on Monday.

“I hope my players don’t make the same mistakes they made against Indonesia. They will need to fight for the ball against Uzbekistan. My players come from different clubs so I have been building my own way of playing for the team,” Miura said through an interpreter.

Coach Bakhtiyor Ashurmatov of Uzbekistan said the match will be a good chance for his team to sharpen their skills ahead of the qualifying round.

Uzbekistan defeated Thailand 5-2 in the King’s Cup earlier this year.

Miura said he will announce his 23-man squad for the AFC on March 17 before flying to Thailand for another friendly on March 22.

Viet Nam have several injury problems at the moment after the long Tet holiday during which many of them were unable to train.

“I hope our players will make a swift recovery from their injuries. I don’t have any plans to replace them because I have enough players to fight,” said Miura.

The AFC qualifiers are scheduled for March 23-31 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. There will be 43 teams competing in 10 groups. The 10 group winners and the top five runners-up will qualify for the finals in Qatar early next year.

Source VNS