VietNamNet Bridge – Australia made a come back to overcome Viet Nam 4-3 in the opening game of the Asian Football Confederation Women's Under-19 Championship in HCM City.

Australia goals came from midfielder Linda O'Neil's early in the first half and a hattrick from forward Emily Gielnik in the second half.

Captain Nguyen Thi Nguyet scored a double for the host team and the remaining goal went to Pham Hoang Quynh.

"We missed a lot of chances in the second half and Australia made tactical changes, bringing on Teigen Allen who improved their game," said Viet Nam coach Nguyen Hong Pham.

"Anyway we had a good match and I would like to thank players for their efforts," he said.

Australian coach Jeff Hopkins said: "The match was real test for us. We must be better if we are to win the title here. We will work on our game between matches and you will see the improvement in the next game."

Just four minutes into the game, Australia opened the score through O'Neil, who did not make a mistake in a one-to-one situation when Vietnamese players had not settle down.

Despite conceding an early goal, Vietnamese did not panic off when captain Nguyet headed the equaliser from a corner.

Vietnamese team took advantage of an Australian team, weakened by leaving some good players on the bench. They scored one more goal to make it 2-1 before the break.

Six minutes into the second half, Nguyet split the Australian defence to score her second goal and give Viet Nam a 3-1 lead.

But a dreadful mistake by defender Pham Thi Tuoi in the area changed the course of the game. Her clearance struck Gielnik, who made no mistake while one-on-one with the keeper to reduce the deficit to 2-3.

The Australians went on to take full advantage of their superior height and strength, allowing Gielnik to score two more in a quarter of an hour to complete her hattrick and Australia's comeback.

The tournament includes six teams Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea and Viet Nam.

All teams play in a round-robin format and the team getting most points will claim the title. The tournament will finish on September 16.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News