What was impressive about their victory was the way they took the game to Tampines Rovers, playing on the front foot and controlling the match.

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Olaha in control

One of the most impressive performances for Song Lam Nghe An was that of Nigerian Michael Olaha.

The 20-year-old was a constant threat throughout the match, with his size and mobility proving difficult for the Tampines Rovers defence to handle, taking the game on and linking up well with his fellow attacking players in Ho Phuc Tinh and Ho Khac Ngoc.

Played in foggy conditions at the My Dinh Stadium in the Vietnamese capital, it took until the 73rd minute for the home side to break the deadlock despite dominating proceedings up until that point.

Nguyen Xuan Thanh’s dangerous cross into the box was put out for a corner, and after taking it short, Nguyen Xuan Thanh’s left-footed cross floated to the back post where Omar Faye was left unmarked to smash a header past Global Cebu custodian Patrick Deyto.

Deyto had twice earlier denied Omar Faye with two clutch saves, including one in the first half from point blank when the Senegalese striker attempted to poke the ball home from a corner, with Deyto also doing well to clean up the resulting scramble in the box.

The 27-year-old shot-stopper was also called into action on the stroke of half time to deny Tran Dinh Dong’s venomous effort from the edge of the box. Despite his best efforts, however, it was the home side that got their campaign off to a winning start.

FLC Thanh Hoa face a trip to Myanmar to face Yangon United in their next match, while Global Cebu are at home against Indonesia’s Bali United.

 

The home side survived an early scare when goalkeeper Syazwan Buhari was caught outside his box after a failed attempt to clear the ball, with Afiq Yunos forced to clear Khac Ngoc’s header off the goal line.

Song Lam Nghe An’s Nigerian attacker Michael Olaha was a constant thorn in the side of the Tampines Rovers’ defence, linking up well with Khac Ngoc and Phuc Tinh and showing a willingness to take on defenders, which created numerous opportunities for his side throughout the game and led to the second goal.

The 2017 Vietnamese Cup winners took the lead in clinical style just after the half-time break after winning the ball back on half way from a goal kick.

With the Tampines Rovers defence caught out of position, Khac Ngoc slipped the ball in for Phuc Tinh who made no mistake in putting the ball past Syazwan in goal.

Khac Ngoc then scored an early contender for goal of the tournament with a rocket from outside the box with just 20 minutes remaining, sealing all three points for the visitors.

Song Lam Nghe An’s next match is at home against Malaysian powerhouse Johor Darul Ta’zim, while Tampines Rovers must recover from the disappointing loss and travel to Indonesia to face Persija Jakarta.

Last season, the Seagulls were off the pace in the Iraqi League title race, but they did manage to win a record 15th Iraq Cup. 

Coach Essam Hamad, who led them to the 1-0 cup final victory over Naft Al Wasat, was replaced 24 hours later with Ayoub Odisho - a man who has won two Iraqi league titles at Al Talaba and Air Force Club.

Out with the old boss went key first team players, Iraq captain and striker Alaa Abdul-Zahra, defender Karrar Mohammed and goalkeeper Mohammed Kasid, but the club’s board kept busy in the pre-season, signing 13 new players over the summer to bolster the squad ahead of a second consecutive AFC Cup campaign.