Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Hanoi: A goal from captain Pape Omar Faye gave FLC Thanh Hoa a hard fought 1-0 win over Filipino side Global Cebu in their opening AFC Cup 2018 Group G encounter on Saturday.
Played in foggy conditions at the My Dinh Stadium in the Vietnamese capital, it took until the 73rd minute for the home side to break the deadlock despite dominating proceedings up until that point.
Nguyen Xuan Thanh’s dangerous cross into the box was put out for a corner, and after taking it short, Nguyen Xuan Thanh’s left-footed cross floated to the back post where Omar Faye was left unmarked to smash a header past Global Cebu custodian Patrick Deyto.
Deyto had twice earlier denied Omar Faye with two clutch saves, including one in the first half from point blank when the Senegalese striker attempted to poke the ball home from a corner, with Deyto also doing well to clean up the resulting scramble in the box.
The 27-year-old shot-stopper was also called into action on the stroke of half time to deny Tran Dinh Dong’s venomous effort from the edge of the box. Despite his best efforts, however, it was the home side that got their campaign off to a winning start.
FLC Thanh Hoa face a trip to Myanmar to face Yangon United in their next match, while Global Cebu are at home against Indonesia’s Bali United.