ASEAN Club Championship: Hard-fought Victory for Nam Dinh FC

26/09/2025 07:55:00 SportScoop

Nam Dinh Steel FC, playing at their home stadium Thien Truong, had to work hard to defeat Svay Rieng (Cambodia) 2-1, securing their first victory in the ASEAN Club Championship 2025/26.

The visiting team Svay Rieng started with high momentum, threatening goalkeeper Caique Santos’ goal as early as the 3rd minute with a dangerous strike by Kwame Peprah. The Brazilian goalkeeper’s concentration helped Nam Dinh Steel avoid an early goal and served as a warning that they must not underestimate their opponent. Svay Rieng pressed quickly and set up effective traps, causing difficulties for the home team in launching attacks, especially in the midfield area. At the 25th minute, Caique Santos made a brilliant save, successfully stopping a dangerous infiltration and shot by Svay Rieng’s Ratanak Min.

Struggling in attack, Nam Dinh Steel also suffered a setback when Mitchell Dijks got injured and was substituted by To Van Vu. The home side’s opportunity came at the 29th minute when Percy Tau penetrated inside Svay Rieng’s 16.5-meter area, shooting into the back of teammate Kristoffer Hansen. Lam Ti Phong’s follow-up shot went wide. At the 36th minute, from a corner kick, Nam Dinh Steel launched a full offensive push, and Lam Ti Phong tapped the ball in accurately to open the scoring. Just 4 minutes later, Lam Ti Phong completed his brace with a one-touch finish to increase the lead to 2-0, after Kristoffer Hansen’s shot rebounded off the post of Svay Rieng’s goal.

Lam Ti Phong was the hero for Nam Dinh FC with his two goals against Svay Rieng. Photo: Hoang Linh

“Hero” Lam Ti Phong left the pitch early in the second half, replaced by Van Vi. Nam Dinh Steel switched to a defensive counterattack style, making use of their two-goal advantage. At the 51st minute, Walber Amorim failed to connect well with teammates when receiving the ball right in front of the goal, but luckily Svay Rieng players could not gain possession. At the 59th minute, the home team was down to 10 men when Mahmoud Eid was shown a red card after fouling Svay Rieng’s Faris Hammouti. At the 64th minute, Kwame Peprah lobbed the ball onto the crossbar of Caique Santos’ goal, putting Nam Dinh Steel’s defense under pressure.

Despite having a numerical advantage, Svay Rieng was frustrated by Nam Dinh Steel’s deep and disciplined defense. It was not until the 81st minute that Patrick Monteiro scored a long-range shot from outside the box, reducing the deficit to 1-2 for Svay Rieng. Nevertheless, the visitors failed to find another equalizer, and Nam Dinh Steel successfully maintained their lead.

With the 2-1 victory, Nam Dinh Steel has 3 points, the same as Svay Rieng but with one less match played, trailing the leader Johor Darul Ta'zim FC (Malaysia) who have 6 points after two straight wins.

In their next match on December 4, Nam Dinh Steel will travel to face Myanmar’s Shan United.

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