Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Vinh: Le The Cuong netted two goals as Vietnamese side Song Lam Nghe An ended their AFC Cup campaign on a positive note with a 3-0 victory over Singapore’s Tampines Rovers on Wednesday.
Senegalese striker Abass Cheikh Dieng also struck for the V-League champions who raced into a three-goal half-time lead at the Vinh Stadium as they recorded their second home win in the competition.
With the victory, Song Lam leapfrogged S-League champions Tampines into third place in Group F although both teams failed to advance past the group stage of the AFC Cup as group winners Kitchee of Hong Kong and Malaysian side Terengganu progressed to the last 16 instead.
Song Lam coach Nguyen Huu Thang felt that his team had caught Tampines cold with their strong start to the game as they surged into a 2-0 lead in the opening 20 minutes.
“The Tampines players seemed a bit confused early on and we took advantage by scoring two early goals,” he said.
“It was a good result for us and I am pleased that we have finished with a win. It was also a game that was played in a good spirit although both teams had no chance to go through to the next round.”
The home side enjoyed an excellent start in the match as The Cuong gave them the lead after only six minutes, turning in Dieng’s cross from the left.
The Senegalese striker than turned from provider to goalscorer in the 20th minute as he fired home his first AFC Cup goal to make it 2-0.
The visitors were in disarray and they fell further behind on the stroke of half-time when The Cuong netted his second of the game to put Song Lam three goals up at the break.
Tampines skipper Aleksander Duric and midfielder Imran Sahib came on at the interval and the Singapore club were much improved in the second half.
However, they were unable to reduce the deficit as Duric headed an effort wide and Ahmed Fahmie shot off target.
Having reached the knockout stage on their previous four appearances in the AFC Cup, Tampines finished last in their group this time around with only one win in six games.
Coach Steven Tan preferred not to dwell on his team’s disappointing performance though as he lauded the performance of the Vietnamese side.
“I thought that all of the Song Lam players did very well today. They were very determined to win and they deserved their result today,” said the Tampines coach.