Viet Nam’s U19s saw their third victory in a row after defeating Timor Leste 2-1 in the East Zone’s group G match of the 2016 AFC U19 Championship qualifying stage in Yangon, Myanmar yesterday.

The team temporarily topped the group with nine points and raised their hope to move on to the event’s final round.

Viet Nam played with enthusiasm in the first minutes of the match, quickly scoring the first goal thanks to captain Nguyen Trong Dai from the 11m spot in the fourth minute.

Only 14 minutes later, midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai doubled the score for Viet Nam.

After the break, Viet Nam continued dominating the match, however, they missed many opportunities to convert their goals.

After an attack by Timor Leste, Henrique Cruz narrowed the gap to 2-1 in the 89th minute.

In extra time, Timor Leste played attack continuously in a bid to level the score, but they failed.

Earlier, Viet Nam beat Hong Kong 3-1 and crushed Brunei 5-0.

Tomorrow, they will meet Myanmar.

Ten group winners and five best second-placed teams will qualify for the finals, while hosts Bahrain received an automatic qualification.

If Bahrain finish on top of their qualifying group or among one of the five second best-placed teams, the next second-placed team will qualify for the final competition. — VNS