(PLO)- Theerathon Bunmathan, the name that Coach Park Hang-seo was most worried about when instructing his students very carefully is also the name that was called out with the only goal in the moment of ecstasy on Thammasat Stadium.
The red-shirted shadows of the Vietnamese team (VN) hard at Thammasat field could not help the home team have a comeback against the Thais. The desire to reclaim the championship trophy from the Thai people as a farewell gift to teacher Park Hang-seo did not come true. Losing 0-1 in the second leg, the Vietnamese team received a silver medal with a result of 2-3 after two rounds of the final match. At the same time, Polking’s teachers and students won the Southeast Asia title for the second time in a row.
|
Theerathon rarely rose and shot a long shot close to the corner to knock down goalkeeper Van Lam. Photo: HAI THINH |
The three missed opportunities of Tien Linh or Phan Van Duc’s unsuccessful luck shot and Quang Hai’s connecting kick showed the helplessness of the Vietnamese team on the closed Thammasat stadium of 25,000 spectators.
Five positions changed in the second leg with the hope that the tightness in midfield would be the launching pad for the comeback of coach Park Hang-seo, who was bankrupted by a rare rise that had enough time to adjust a ball. and hit the long shot of the masterpiece Theerathon in the 24th minute.
Losing early, coach Park Hang-seo was forced to tear the card back with a series of changes. Quang Hai came back, followed by Duy Manh, Thanh Chung was pushed to the center stage with Tuan Hai, Van Toan was introduced but the new people compared to the main squad were still not enough to turn the situation around against a Thailand. Older, more discreet and calmer in blocking all the ways to the ball and the attacks of the VN team.
From the feeling of being afraid of conceding to being forced to attack, forcing to find a way to score the opponent’s goal, but lacking in ideas, although there were still opportunities, Tien Linh three times shot the ball unsuccessfully. With a very difficult situation forced to score two more goals without conceding any more, Park’s students, despite their best efforts, had to admit that Thailand played more evenly and deserved the championship more.
The biggest loss of Mr. Park’s students to the Thai people was the bravery and brilliant brilliance of Theerathon. Admittedly, the host country Thailand did not have many opportunities, but only a moment of ecstasy of Theerathon was enough. That ecstasy led to Mr. Park’s next plans, so that when the final whistle sounded, the Korean teacher bowed his head to pray after a match and also said goodbye to the team, with Vietnamese football.
The Thai team won the AFF Cup for the seventh time on the night of January 16 at Thammasat Stadium with the honor of being attended by FIFA President Gianni Infantino and awarded the gold cup.•
Teacher Park’s sadness
The Korean teacher once confessed that one of his two biggest sorrows over the past five years was the 0-2 loss to Thailand in the semi-final first leg of the AFF Cup last year. Mr. Park was still struggling with the loss to the biggest rival in Southeast Asia that turned the Vietnamese team into a former champion. Therefore, Coach Park Hang-seo in 2022 dreams of repaying the debt to the Thai people and also saying goodbye to Vietnamese football. However, Mr. Park did not fulfill his wish. At the end of January, he will officially bid farewell to the students. TT
GIA HUY