By Ivan Stewart Saldajeno – PNA
MANILA — Vietnam made sure the Philippine Azkals will not have a repeat of the “Miracle in Hanoi” to steal the last spot in the ASEAN Football Federation Championship finals as it scored a 2-1 win in the second leg of their semifinal series in the Vietnamese capital on Thursday night.
The Azkals, who lost at home in the opener on Sunday night, needed a 2-0 win similar to their upset of Vietnam in the 2010 edition of the tournament, also known as the AFF Suzuki Cup, which became known as the “Miracle in Hanoi”, to finally make the title round.
But instead, Vietnam took the home win to seal a two-match showdown with Malaysia for all the marbles.
Coach Sven-Goran Erikkson made an interesting tweak in his starting lineup by putting in Patrick Deyto as the starting goalkeeper in place of Michael Falkesgaard, and the Davao Aguilas star came a few minutes shy of keeping a clean sheet on the road.
However, Nguyen Quang Hai breached through Deyto’s post as he slotted in an 83rd minute goal to the delight of the raucous Hanoi crowd.
Nguyen Cong Phoung then made it 2-0 for Vietnam with his 86th minute strike that sealed its seat in the finals.
James Younghusband scored in the 88th minute for the Azkals’ consolation goal.
