Hanoi (VNA) – U23 Vietnam drew 1-1 against defending champions the Republic ofKorea (RoK) in their second Group C game of the 2022 AFC U23 Asian Cup on June 5, despite going behind with less than thirty minutes left.

The RoK tookthe lead through Cho Young-wook, but went down to ten men in the 78thminute. Just five minutes later, Vietnam equalised through a great goalscored by Vu Tien Long.

Seven of Vietnam'sstarters in the match at Lokomotiv Stadium in Tashkent were under 21 years old.Quan Van Chuan replaced Nguyen Van Toan who injured his finger after the matchagainst Thailand on June 3, while Nguyen Thanh Binh and Ly Cong Hoang Anhreturned to bolster Gong Oh-kyun's squad.

Meanwhile,for Hwang Sun-hong's RoK side, core players Lee Kang-in, Oh Se-hun and ChoYoung-wook are benched.

The TaegukWarriors applied pressure right off the bat. In the 8th minute, Lee Jin-yongwas through on goal after Luong Duy Cuong lost possession just outside thesix-yard box. The midfielder's effort, however, was stopped by Binh.

Vietnamreplied seven minutes later, with a trademark Coach Gong pressing play thatlead to a Khuat Van Khang left-footed shot that went just over the bar.

The RoK’sbest chance of the first half went to Grasshoppers FC's Jeong Sang-bin in the26th minute, who hit the outside of the net.

It was Vietnam'sturn a few minutes later when Le Van Do's cross met Tien Long in the far post.Long had a powerful shot but hit the side netting.

In the 42ndminute, Eom Ji-sung hit a low and dangerous shot toward the goal, but Quan VanChuan was able to keep the ball out.

Chuan's namemeans "on point" in Vietnamese, and the second-choice goalkeeper wasaccurate in all his saves and punches, keeping the scoreline 0-0 going into thebreak.

The secondhalf started with Vietnam getting the first dangerous chance when SEA Gamesfinal hero Nham Manh Dung's header breezed over the bar in the 52nd minute.

The RoKreplied with an enormous amount of pressure in the next ten minutes, with KoJae-hyeon and Oh Se-hun forcing Quan Van Chuan to make super saves.

But even theheroics of Chuan couldn't paper over the cracks in the Vietnamese defence. Inthe 64th minute, Tuan Tai had an awful clearance that led to a counter from theRoK. Cho Young-wook was free in Vietnam's six-yard box, and his great turn andshot went past Chuan.

Coach Gong,however, did not falter. The RoK brought on four substitutions, Vo Dinh Lam, DungQuang Nho, Nguyen Van Tung and Huynh Cong Den, to boost Vietnam's attackingprowess.

And thebreakthrough for the men in red came at the 78th minute when Lee Jin-yongfouled Tung just outside the six-yard box. The central midfielder had alreadybeen booked for a blatant challenge before and was shown his second yellow cardafter VAR interfered.

Withthe man advantage, Vietnam pressed all over the RoK's half and got theequaliser they craved for. 

In the 73rdminute, a counterattack led to Phan Tuan Tai's cross from the left-wingthat went through the RoK defence. The ball went to Vu Tien Long who was freeinside the box and delivered a screamer into the top of Goh Dong-min's net.

Both teamswent tit-for-tat in the final minutes of the match, but the two defences stayedstrong and the match ended with a 1-1 draw.

With thisresult, Vietnam are in second place with two points to their name. Having drawnto Group C's toughest teams in Thailand and the RoK, they will face Malaysia onWednesday, with a view of securing three points and qualification into thesecond round./.