Terengganu: Malaysia’s Terengganu FC and Đông Á Thanh Hóa FC of Vietnam settled for a 2-2 draw in an entertaining Group A match in the ASEAN Club Championship Shopee Cup™ on Wednesday.
Akhyar Rashid and Manny Ott handed the Malaysia Super League side a 2-0 lead before the visiting Thanh Hóa scored against the run of play in first-half stoppage time through Luiz Antonio.
Ubaidullah Shamsul then scored into his own goal as the parity was restored in Terengganu before the home side’s late efforts to find a first win of the Shopee Cup were foiled by a resolute Thanh Hóa defence.
Under the pouring rain at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium, it did not take the home side long to draw the first blood as they turned defence to attack in the blink of an eye.
Terengganu captain Safawi Rasid won the battle with his marker to head a clearance from his goalkeeper Suhaimi Husin into the path of Akhyar who decided to go for goal himself and planted his low drive past Trinh Xuan Hoang to make it 1-0 in the 20th minute.
Chances were few and far between in the first period, but Tomislav Steinbruckner’s side were clinical when they went forward as they doubled the lead in the 40th minute when Azam Azmi’s cutback was met in the middle by Manny Ott who made it two goals in two matches in the Shopee Cup.
Velizar Popov’s Thanh Hóa did not register a single shot in the first half up until stoppage time when Antonio’s free-kick into the box evaded the attacking Gustavo Santana as well as Terengganu goalkeeper Suhaimi to find the back of the net and set up an exciting second period.
And there was more drama after the restart as the Vietnamese club drew level in the 53rd minute when Terengganu centre-back Shamsul’s attempt to clear a loose ball inside the box ended up in his own goal and made it 2-2.
Ubaidullah had the chance to redeem himself in the 74th minute when Marin Pilj’s free-kick was fumbled by the Thanh Hóa custodian and the young defender’s follow-up effort rattled the crossbar.
The home side went close again three minutes later when Nurillo Tukhtasinov’s shot following a well-worked free-kick routine was blocked on the line by Nguyen Thanh Long as Terengganu rued their luck.
Beaten 3-2 by Cambodia’s Cambodia’s PKR Svay Rieng FC in their opener, Terengganu continued to probe for a winner in front of home support, but failed to convert possession into more chances in the later stages of the game.
The Turtles will travel to Yangon to face Shan United FC when the Shopee Cup action resumes on January 8, 2025 still looking for their first win, while Thanh Hóa, who have four points from two matches, make the trip to Pathum Thani to take on Thailand’s BG Pathum United on the same day.
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