Japan edge out Australia to win Asian Cup

Iwashimizu Azusa's first half-winning goal landed Japan its first Asian Cup win.

The narrow but convincing 1-0 victory over Australia ended the Asian Football Confederation Women's Asian Cup, which wrapped up last night at Thong Nhat Stadium in HCM City.

Azusa scored the only goal of the match after 29 minutes as she sent a loose ball flying into the goal.

Winning the title meant that the World Cup holders not only ended their jinx at the continental competition, where they had lost the final four times, but also proved that they were ready to defend the title at the World Cup next year.

"I have the best feeling at the moment. The win means a lot more than being a champion today because we have a lot of young players in our teams," Japan's captain Miyama Aya said.

Japan's coach, Sasaki Norio, said, "I played well in the first half and scored the early goal that gave us mental strength in the second half and created more chances as well. We came here to win the tournament and we did it and will develop the team from here to compete in the World Cup."

Australia's first loss at the tournament means that the defending champions failed to defend the title they won four years ago in China.

"Japan was fantastic today and they kept the ball and made passes very well today and created chances. We also had two and three good chances but could not take them," Australia's coach, Alen Stajcic, said.

"Our players were good in terms of fitness but I will need to work on them technically as well as do better on executions if we are to challenge other big teams as well as get good results at the World Cup next year," he added.

In the earlier third-place play-off, China overcame South Korea 2-1 thanks to a goal from Park Eun-sun and Yang Li, who headed home a corner in the last minute.

"I congratulated my players for their efforts in the match. It was a tough match today. After the grueling semi-final match against Japan, it's difficult for us to play well against such a strong team as South Korea. But our players did a very good job physically and mentally. My team will improve even more in the future," China's coach, Hao Wei, said.

"It's good to finish third at the continent's biggest competition and gives us a lot of motivation for Chinese women's football but we have a long-term goal of getting good results at the World Cup next year," Hao added.

Yoon Duk-yoe congratulated China for a third-place finish at the tournament and said that his players approached the world-level football.

"I congratulated China for securing a third place and thanked all my players for their efforts," South Korea's coach, Yoon Duk-yeo, said. "Our players showed that they can compete against Asian powerhouses. We played China twice and Australia once and all those games are equal."

Viet Nam win VTV Cup

Viet Nam beat Thailand's youth team 25-23, 27-29, 27-25, 27-25 to win the VTV Cup international women's volleyball tournament on Saturday in Bac Ninh Province.

It was the second match between the teams in the tournament. In the preliminary round, Viet Nam had lost 20-25, 18-25, 15-25.

The winners of the annual event received a bonus of US$10,000.

In the third-place playoff, North Korea beat Kazakhstan 25-19, 25-17, 25-14.

Tam powers ahead to win 7th stage

No cyclist could challenge Ha Thanh Tam's race to the top in the Return to the Countryside cycling tournament as he won another stage in the event yesterday.

Representing Hat Ngoc Troi An Giang Rice, Tam finished the seventh stage, a 90-kilometre race from Rach Gia to Ha Tien Town, with a time of 2 hours 20 minutes and 48 seconds. Tam, whose total time is 17:20.39, is also ahead of the rest of his competitors by nearly 1 minute.

Phan Thai Hoang and Tran Nguyen Duy Nhan of Military Zone 7 came second and third, respectively.

Their outstanding performance helped Military Zone 7 take the lead in the team ranking with a total time of 52:06.09, followed by An Giang and HCM City.

This morning the cyclists will begin the 92-kilometre eighth stage from Ha Tien to Chau Doc City.

Ha Noi win Kim Dong Chess Cup

Ha Noi won the first prize at the Kim Dong Cup - Ha Noi Chess Open tournament, which wrapped up yesterday in the capital city.

The host team bagged four gold medals in both advanced and amateur categories.

Vietchess club came second with two titles, followed by October 10 School, which won one gold.

In its seven edition, the annual competition, which recorded 313 young participants aged six to 15 years, was recognised as one of the national events.

The competition was one of the events in celebration of the International Children's Day on June 1.

The host An Giang drew two-time champion Hoang An Gia Lai 3–3 in the most exciting match of the national football championship, V-League, yesterday.

Nigerian Felix Gbenga Ajala helped An Giang lead from the 19th minute, but his fellow countryman Felix Ogbuke tied the score in the 23rd minute.

Tran Minh Vuong netted the ball in the 49th minute to help Gia Lai in the first half time for a 2–1 lead.

The naturalised striker Dinh Hoang Max tied the score 11 minutes into the second half time.

Red-hot Nigerian striker Timothy Anjembe of Gia Lai made it 3–2 in the 57th minute; however, overseas Vietnamese Mac Hong Quan completed a draw for An Giang with a goal in the 67th minute.

The draw pushed the Gia Lai team to the seventh place in the table after 14 matches, while An Giang were still at the bottom.

Also played yesterday, Uganda's Henry Kisekka and Dinh Thanh Trung scored two goals as Quang Nam beat Hai Phong 2–0.

The victory pushed Quang Nam to the 9th place with 16 points, replacing Hai Phong in the table.

Binh Duong, who did not play yesterday, still lead the championship with 29 points, ahead of Thanh Hoa, Ha Noi T&T and SHB Da Nang.

Nigerian striker Ganiyu Bolayi Oseni and Dinh Hiep scored twice to help Dong Tam Long An complete a 2–1 win over Quang Ninh on Saturday.

Having failed to net the ball in the first half time, Nigerian Oseni opened the score with a cannon shot in the first minute of the second half time before his teammate Dinh Hiep made it 2–0 in the 57th minute.

Nigeria's Ikechukwu Uche pulled back a goal for Quang Ninh in the 65th minute.

Oseni would have scored a second goal in the match if his penalty shot had not hit the back of the net.

On Saturday, Phi Son helped the host Song Lam Nghe An lead 1–0 nine minutes into the game against SHB Da Nang, but Argentinean Martin Zbrun of Da Nang drew the match at the 88th minute.

Last Friday, Ha Noi T&T beat Dong Nai 2–0.

Beating Dong Nai, Hanoi T&T approach top spot

A comfortable 2-0 victory over Dong Nai in the 16th round of the 2014 V-League season on May 23 secured hosts Hanoi T&T a top-three place in the provisional standings and narrowed the gap with the front-runners to just three points.

Things were not so easy for defending champions, Hanoi T&T as they faced strong resistance from the guest team who were thirsty for a win following two consecutive losses, to Thanh Hoa and Vicem Hai Phong, in previous rounds.

It was not until the 40th minute that the deadlock was broken, as the home side enjoyed a penalty following Nguyen Rodger’s infringement on Hanoi’s Hoang Vu Samson in the goal area. Samson successfully converted that golden opportunity into a goal to put Hanoi ahead.

Inspired by the opener just before half-time, the host team kick-started the second half confidently, putting continuous pressure on the Dong Nai side.

Just one minute after the hour mark, Samson unleashed a strong header to beat Dong Nai goalkeeper Hoang Tuan and double the advantage for the Hanoi team, making himself the most productive striker of the 2014 V-League season, with 17 goals in 11 games.

The 2-0 score was preserved until the end of the match, as Dong Nai’s following attacks were not effective enough to break through Hanoi’s stubborn defensive line.

The victory cemented Hanoi’s third position with 26 points and boosted their spirit and confidence in the bid against front-runners Thanh Hoa and Becamex Binh Duong for this year’s V-League title.

In other 16th round matches, Dong Tam Long An beat Quang Ninh Coal 2-1 on their home field while Vicem Hai Phong conceded two goals to guests QNK Quang Nam.

V-League giants Song Lam Nghe An and SHB Da Nang had to share points in their 1-1 draw on May 24, while Hung Vuong An Giang could not break out of bottom ranking after being held 3-3 by Hoang Anh Gia Lai the following day.