The old saying that a team with more experienced players, who play better in the entire match always wins, proved to be a fallacy.

Defending champions Hoang Anh Gia Lai FC's U-21, who dominated the match most of time and had more chances, still ended up losing 0-1 to South Korean U-19 squad in the opener of the Thanh Nien newspaper's International Football Tournament in HCM City.

Upset victory: South Korean U19 players celebrate after scoring a goal in their 1-0 win over Hoang Anh Gia Lai's U21 in HCM City yesterday. — VNS Photo Quang Thang

The first four opportunities went to the local team which received massive support from local fans thanks to their beautiful and technical playing style.

Striker Nguyen Van Toan made use of an error from a Korean defender to steal the ball and brought it to the penalty area, but his shot was not hard enough to beat goalkeeper Song Bumkeun.

After that he had another shot at the goal, followed by those from Nguyen Phong Hong Duy and Nguyen Cong Phuong, but none of them were converted.

The Koreans caught the pace of the match and replied strongly.

They launched a rapid counter-attack in the 24th minute when forward Kim Jeonghwan escaped from the control of Hoang Anh Gia Lai defenders and beat goalkeeper Pham Van Tien.

Hoang Anh Gia Lai then restructured their line-up and opened more attacks.

Vu Van Thanh, Hoang Thanh Tung and Phuong continued testing goalkeeper Song but all of their attempts proved futile.

On several occasions, the South Koreans broke through Hoang Anh Gia Lai's defence, and they had nearly five more minutes in the goal after the interval and near the end of the match.

The win pushed South Korea to the top of Group B. The team with 16 players, just competed in the Asian U-19 competition, and will next meet Myanmar's U-21 squad on Sunday when Hoang Anh Gia Lai take a day's rest.

In an earlier match yesterday, Thailand's U-21 drew 2-2 with their Singaporean rivals at the Thong Nhat Stadium.

Sarun Puangbut and Teerapak Punboonchu scored for the Thai side while Muhammad Bin Said and Mohamad Taufik Bin Suparno netted for Singapore.

In the next fixture tomorrow, Thailand will play the hosts Viet Nam.

The annual tournament, which will end on November 29, will deliver more than VND1 billion (US$44,400) to the winners and personal prizes.

Thinh to play for Thanh Hoa

Midfielder Ngo Hoang Thinh has left V.League 1 club Song Lam Nghe An to sign a three-year contract with FLC Thanh Hoa.

The transfer fee hasn't been revealed.

The 24-year-old midfield Thinh, a key Nghe An player, was called up to the national team for the ASEAN Football Federation-Suzuki Cup 2014.

He was highly valued by coach Toshiya Miura for his combative and high-energy play in a team that prizes efficiency in passing and movement.

Earlier, three key players also left Nghe An. captain midfielder Nguyen Quang Tinh and defender Le The Cuong inked contracts with Can Tho, while defender Tran Dinh Dong joined Thanh Hoa club.

Thanh Hoa plan to add around five good domestic and foreign players into their team with the aim of winning the national premier league next year.

At this year's event, Thanh Hoa finished third behind Binh Duong and Ha Noi T&T.

Duan shines at cycling event

Le Van Duan of VUS-HCM City won the 195km-fourth stage from Buon Ma Thuot City to Nha Trang City at the Nam Ky Khoi Nghia cycling tournament yesterday.

The 28th Southeast Asian Games silver medallist Duan also won the second and third stage of the event which attracted 75 cyclists.

With his outstanding performance, Duan won the green jersey as the best sprinter with 55 points.

Duan's teammate Nguyen Truong Tai held the yellow jersey for the best overall time of 14:41.16 after four stages.

Today, cyclists will compete in the 98km-fifth stage from Nha Trang to Da Lat City.