Vientiane: Nhean Sosidan came off the bench to score a stunning winner in the 94th minute as Cambodian champions Svay Rieng FC edged Young Elephants FC of Laos 3-2 in the first leg of the Shopee Cup Qualifying Round Play-off at Laos National Stadium on Wednesday.
It was the Cambodian champions who drew first blood in Vientiane through a stunning strike from Gabriel Silva in the 19th minute, but Takumu Nishihara slotted home a penalty kick in the 33rd minute to draw the hosts level.
Svay Rieng were down to 10 men when their goalkeeper Vireak Dara was shown a red card before Shokhrukh Mahmudxojiyev pulled Young Elephants ahead from the resulting free-kick. Vireak’s fellow custodian Solasak Thilavong was also sent off in the second period before new signing Cristian Roque Dos Santos and Sosidan struck late on to hand the Cambodian side the advantage.
Svay Rieng began the first leg strongly, dominating possession and their Brazilian winger Silva creating problems for the home defence down the left-hand side. But Young Elephants also proved they can be a threat as Mahmudxojiyev got behind the opposition defence, though failing to hurt the Cambodian side.
Xangnoy’s 20-year-old goalkeeper Solasak was called into action twice in quick succession in the 17th minute as he tipped a deflected cross from Sokyuth Kim over his goal before producing a brilliant save to deny Saret Krya’s powerful strike from inside the box after a corner kick.
However, there was nothing Solasak could do from the next corner when Svay Rieng captain Takashi Odawara delicately laid a loose ball back towards the edge of the box where Silva met it with a first-time finish and opened the Cambodian Premier League side’s scoring in the 19th minute.
Young Elephants were centimetres away from drawing level when Nick Taylor’s foul on 19-year-old Phonsak Seesavath earned them a free-kick at the edge of the box just past the half-hour mark and Mahmudxojiyev’s strike rattled the woodwork.
But they did not have to wait too long to restore parity as they were awarded a penalty in the 33rd minute that was converted by Nishihara past Svay Rieng custodian Vireak to make it 1-1.
A pivotal moment in the game came just seconds later when Vireak was sent off after rushing off his line to foul Mahmudxojiyev and also handle the ball outside his area. And it went from bad to worse for Jose Munoz’s side as the hosts managed to go ahead from the resulting set piece.
Mahmudxojiyev, who hit the floor after getting a boot from Vireak, recovered in time to take the free-kick and on his second attempt from an identical position, the Uzbek striker curled his shot over the defensive wall and past Sovannarath Aim, the new man in the Svay Rieng goal, to help the home side go from a goal down to take the lead within a whirlwind four minutes.
The score remained 2-1 heading into the half-time interval, but more drama unfolded after the restart as Young Elephants had their goalkeeper Solasak receive his marching orders for a foul on substitute Cristian well outside his area and both sides were down to 10 men for the last 35 minutes.
Buoyed by the red card, Svay Rieng probed for an equaliser with Pablo failing to hit the target with headers – first in the 72nd minute from a Sosidan cross and then with a corner delivered by the same player six minutes later.
Substitute Min Ratanak then did well to get inside the box and test Young Elephants keeper Keo Oudone Souvannasangso in the 85th minute before Cristian’s low drive from inside the box beat the goalkeeper in the 90th minute and squared the game at 2-2.
But there was more drama to come as 21-year-old Sosidan cut inside from the right and planted a left-foot strike from 25 yards out into the top corner to stun the Laotian champions four minutes into second-half stoppage time.
The two sides will meet again in a week’s time in Phnom Penh to decide who will join Thailand’s BG Pathum United, Terengganu FC from Malaysia, Indonesia’s PSM Makassar and Dong A Thanh Hoa FC from Vietnam in Group A of the competition.
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