SPORTS NEWS 6/3 U-23s beat T&T 3-1 in friendly Viet Nam's U-23 squad defeated the V.League 1 Ha Noi T&T 3-1 in a friendly match yesterday (March 5) at the capital city's Hang Day Stadium. This was the first test for the U-23s after a week of training together under coach Toshyia Miura. Midfielder Pham Manh Hung and striker Le Thanh Binh scored one goal each before Nguyen Cong Phuong added a third goal to the tally for the U-23 squad during the last minute of the match.   Race to the ball: National U23 striker Nguyen Cong Phuong (right) vies for a ball against Ha Noi T&T's Cyrus Daneil Nicholas during a friendly match yesterday in Ha Noi. The U23s win 3-1.  Centreback Nguyen Van Bien pulled one back for T&T and opened the team's scorecard just six minutes into the game. Oseni pulled one back for T&T a minute before the end of the first half. Following Miura's request, the U-23s played rapidly and limited the ball touches. They also attacked from two wings, resulting in scores. Hung opened the score just six minutes into the match. He converted a free kick into a goal that goalkeeper Nguyen Van Cong failed to stop. The U-23s nearly scored the second goal some minutes later, but Vo Huy Toan's header found Cong's position and the goalie did not make any mistakes. Toan was the player to watch in the team as he continued to test Cong's skills throughout the match, but it was not his day as he did not succeed at any time. Bien levelled the result with a close-range header after several threats by T&T were countered. Binh had reached 2-1 during the 60th minute. At that time, the midfielder perfectly chose the position to pick up the ball and headed to the left corner. Substitute Phuong concluded the game 3-1 with a fine finish at the end of the match. The U-23s will play their second friendly match on March 9 against Indonesia's U-23 at the My Dinh Stadium. These friendly matches are in preparation for the qualifier for the Asian Football Confederation's U-23 Championship 2016 later this month in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. National women’s football championship kicks off The 2015 National Women’s Football Championship officially kicked off on March 5 with the first three matches at Thong Nhat Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City. The annual event has brought together seven teams competing in a two leg round robin tournament, with the first leg running from March 5 to 26 in HCM City and the second leg scheduled between June 21 and July 12 in Ha Nam province. The overall champions will receive a trophy and VND300 million (US$14,100) in prize money, with the second and third place teams claiming VND200 million (US$9,400) and VND150 million (US$7,050) respectively. The opening matches played on Thursday saw Hanoi 1 crush Hanoi 2 by four straight goals, while HCM City and TNG Thai Nguyen defeated Vietnam Coal and Minerals (Vinacomin) and HCM City’s Tao Dan by the same score of 1-0. Phong Phu Ha Nam will play their first game of the tournament against Vinacomin on March 7. At last year’s competition, Hanoi 1 defended their championship title with 15 points overall, recording an amazing tally of seven wins, two draws and just one loss. Trang wins the Binh Duong Open's sixth stage Tran Thi Phuong Trang won the sixth stage at the International Women's Cycling Binh Duong Open yesterday. Trang of Gao Hat Ngoc Troi An Giang ran the whole peloton to finish first in the 92 kilometre Nha Trang-Phan Rang Thap Cham stage, finishing in 2 hours, 32 minutes and 17 seconds. Dao Thi My Gi of the Elephant Fertiliser-Biase and Pham Thi Kim Loan of Vinamit-HCM City stood second and third. With these three emerging at the top, the overall rankings have changed. Supuksorn Nuntana of Thailand is still the quickest rider, with a timing of 11hr, 44min and 59.79sec after six stages. Cao Thi Cam Le and Cao Thi Thuy Trang of Binh Duong Environment and Water Supply-Drainage are close behind. Domesco Dong Thap remained the best team, followed by Thailand and Binh Duong. Panwaraporn Boonsawat of Thailand dropped out of the top three, but led the green jersey contest with 57 points. The 87km seventh stage will be from Phan Rang Thap Cham to Bac Binh District of Binh Thuan Province. HCM City female football team shines at national championship The host HCM City team made a strong start at the first day of the National Women's Football Championship 2015, beating their rival Vietnam Coal 1-0. TNG Thai Nguyen also won 1-0 against Tao Dan club, a new group among six other veteran participating teams. This year, the first portion of round-robin tournament—the highest female football league in the country—is scheduled from March 5 to 26 in the southern hub with return matches held from June 21 to July 12 in northern Ha Nam province. The first matches are watched by Norimatsu Takashi, who was named the head coach of the Vietnam national women’s football team under a two-year contract signed in Hanoi on March 4. The event drew the participation of seven teams from Hanoi, HCM City, Thai Nguyen and Ha Nam. Champion of the tournament will take home 300 million VND (13,980 USD) in prize money, while second and third place winners will receive 200 million VND (9,320 USD) and 150 million VND (6,990 USD), respectively. Thai Nguyen, HCM City win first match in football championship Thai Nguyen and HCM City emerged winners during the first round matches of the National Women's Football Championship yesterday. Thai Nguyen struggled to beat the Tao Dan team 1-0 in a match, and only successfully converted a few opportunities into a goal. Tao Dan, despite playing at the national level for the first time, displayed immense confidence, and got tons of opportunities, but failed to score. "My footballers played very well today, but they were not as lucky. We had more chances than them (Thai Nguyen), but could not score a goal, while they kicked the ball around much less and still secured a win. That is the nature of football," said Coach Luu Ngoc Mai of Tao Dan FC. Striker Nguyen Hai Hoa of Thai Nguyen shared her happiness, saying that her team had faced the difficulties involved in playing against a new team. However, Thai Nguyen emerged as the winner finally. In another match, hosts HCM City defeated Viet Nam Coal and Minerals 1-0. During the next round tomorrow, HCM City will play against Tao Dan, while Viet Nam Coal and Minerals will face off against Phong Phu Ha Nam. Dung to play for HAGL Halfback Bui Tien Dung of Viettel club will soon start play for V.League 1's Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) under a recent loan agreement. "HAGL's boss, Doan Nguyen Duc, had a talk with Viettel's leaders and the two sides reached an agreement that will have Dung playing for HAGL for the second leg of the national premier league until the annual tournament finishes," said Nguyen Tan Anh, HAGL's football group leader. Details of the agreement were not revealed, however, according to Anh, recruiting Dung cost Doan Nguyen Duc a lot of time and effort. Dung, born in the central province of Ha Tinh, grew up with the Viettel club, playing in their Second Division to later become a key player for Viettel. Last year he gave a star performance on the national U19 team. At present, Dung is gathering with the national U23 team to prepare for the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualifiers slated for March 23-31 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Sy quits as Can Tho coach Nguyen Van Sy has become the first coach to leave his post during the Toyota V.League 1. The 44-year-old manager of the Can Tho FC team shared his decision with all the players on Monday, their first day of training after the Tet holiday. The main reason for the resignation is being attributed to the poor performance of the south-western team. After eight rounds, Can Tho, which has played during the V.League 1 for the first season, only has three points. Sy had signed a two-year contract with the club just some days before the tournament began. Can Tho will now be placed under acting head coach Nguyen Thanh Danh, while the team owners look for a suitable replacement. Danh is the perfect substitute to take charge of the team, having coached during the V.League 2, after his processor Vuong Tien Dung resigned temporarily last year. VNS/ND