Power assured during dry season
Power supply will meet the anticipated surge in demand during the dry season this year, said Dang Huy Cuong, director of the Electricity Regulatory Authority of Viet Nam.
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| Qatar's Sebastian Soria (R) fights for the ball with Vietnam's Nguyen Van Bien during the second round of Asian qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Doha on Saturday - Photo: Reuters |
Defender Mohamed Kasoula put the home side in front just six minutes into the game, Meshal Mubarak’s goal in the 51st minute and Yousef Ahmed’s effort in 68 minutes gave Qatar their first win under new head coach Milovan Rajavec.
The result was no surprise to football experts as Vietnam were big underdogs for the qualifier. Vietnam sit 46 places behind Qatar in the world ranking table.
However, Vietnam’s optimistic German coach Falko Goetz wanted at least a draw against strong opponents from the Middle East to give Vietnam a good chance in the second leg in Hanoi. Goetz said before the game his players would play at 200% of their ability.
Vietnam’s players were confident following their 13-1 aggregate hammering of Macau in the first qualifying round while Qatar struggled in recent friendlies when they lost 3-0 to Swiss top-division side Lausanne, and 4-2 against Bayern Munich in Italy. They also drew 2-2 with Neuchatel Xamax in Switzerland before losing 2-1 to minnows India.
The most recent competitive match between Vietnam and Qatar was when the teams drew 1-1 in a group B match at the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, in which Vietnam was one of the four co-host nations.
The Vietnamese began with a refreshed lineup after the Macau clash with four defenders, Nguyen Thanh Long Giang, Tran Chi Cong, Nguyen Van Bien and Huynh Quang Thanh, only one striker Le Cong Vinh, who scored seven goals in the games between Macau, and tried to stifle the game with five midfielders Phan Van Tai Em, Tran Dinh Dong, Nguyen Trong Hoang, Nguyen Van Quyet and Le Tan Tai.
Vietnam understandably played defensively and relied on counter attacks from the beginning but Qatar, with height advantage, attacked from the start.
A defensive mistake led to Qatar’s opener when defender Kasoula headed past Vietnamese goalie Nguyen Manh Dung.
The Vietnamese side knew they had to do something to get back into the game and increased the pressure on the home side’s defence and created some scoring chances but failed to make them count.
Another mistake saw defender Mubarak slot home from close range to make it 2-0.
After the second goal, coach Goetz put on striker Nguyen Quang Hai for defender Tran Dinh Dong but it was to no avail.
The home side gave themselves a healthy lead for the second leg thanks to Ahmed’s fine header.
The two teams will meet again on Thursday at My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi.