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Vietnam women's football team (in red) couldn't get a good result against Australia in the first leg of their Olympic playoff in Newcastle, March 6, 2020. Photo courtesy of Asian Football Confederation. |
Entering the game against vastly superior opponents with the main intent of minimizing the scale of loss, the Vietnamese women could only keep a clean sheet for the first 10 minutes, before Australian captain Sam Kerr scored the opener with a header.
Vietnam did have a good chance to equalize in the 18th minute when Bich Thuy passed the ball from the left flank to Pham Thi Tuoi, but the latter couldn’t get a leg to it.
The Australians kept up their attacking game and just nine minutes later, Chloe Logarzo received the ball inside the box from a cross and easily made it 2-0.
Before the game, Vietnam said they expected that Australia would play from the wings, but the foreknowledge seemed to matter little. Ellie Carpenter and Stephanie Catley applied constant pressure from the flanks, and they played a part in all five goals scored by Australia.
Vietnam created another chance in the 34th minute, but a great free freekick by Bich Thuy just missed its mark.
Just four minutes later, Australia scored their third with a low pass from the wings finding Emily Van Egmond in an easy position to find the net.
After the first half ended 3-0 in Australia’s favor, Vietnam started the second half with key striker Huynh Nhu fielded to strengthen the attack, but the scoreboard only moved for their opponents. In the 67th minute, Clare Polkinghorne converted a corner and 13 minutes later, Sam Kerr completed her personal double from the penalty spot.
A 0-5 loss in the first leg, Vietnam’s Olympic dream has become more distant. They will hope to put in a better performance in the second leg of the qualifiers at home on March 11.
