Thanh Hoa: Vietnam’s Đông Á Thanh Hóa FC and PKR Svay Rieng FC of Cambodia played out a goalless draw in Group A of the ASEAN Club Championship Shopee Cup™ on Wednesday.
The result meant that Thanh Hóa remained unbeaten in the competition with six points from four matches and kept the V.League 1 side in contention for a place in the knockout stage in next month’s Matchday 5.
It was the Cambodian champions who took the game to Thanh Hóa early on as Bounphachan Bounkong tested goalkeeper Trinh Xuan Hoang in the third minute before Saret Krya headed wide from a corner not much later.
They also had half-hearted shouts for a penalty dismissed by the referee after Ngoc Ha Doan’s challenge on Bounphachan inside the box in the ninth minute.
Bounphachan continued to cause problems for Thanh Hóa’s defence and Xuan Hoang had to come off his line to deny the Laos international just past the half-hour mark.
Thanh Hóa’s Luiz Antonio struck from long distance straight into the hands of Svay Rieng custodian Vireak Dara five minutes into the second half before Nick Taylor brushed the side netting at the opposite end after a quick break down the left wing not much later.
Velizar Popov’s home side offered more in attack after the restart and Takashi Odawara had to make a brilliant sliding challenge on Mit A who almost went one-on-one with the Svay Rieng keeper in the 53rd minute.
Thanh Hóa captain Doan Ngoc Tan, who struck in the 1-1 draw with BG Pathum United in their previous match, missed the target by inches with a shot from distance 10 minutes later before Dara was forced into making a spectacular diving save to deny a Yago Ramos effort that was heading for the top corner in the 67th minute.
Svay Rieng’s Kyra failed to keep his header down after meeting a corner in front of the goal in the 75th minute as the game headed towards a nervy finish at the Thanh Hoa Stadium.
Thanh Hoa probed for a winner late on but Josep Munoz’s Svay Rieng held on for a draw, which took their points tally to four from four matches.
The Cambodian Premier League side will next face Myanmar’s Shan United FC in their final group match on 5 February while Thanh Hóa will be on the road to face PSM Makassar of Indonesia on the same day.
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