It’s rush hour in Vietnam’s capital, and in Hanoi rush hour can pretty hectic. It’s also the opening day of the Suzuki Cup and it feels like everyone is trying to get to My Dinh Stadium for kick-off, including me.
It’s my first international game and I’m pretty keen, Vietnam has a history of doing pretty well in this tournament and an opener against Indonesia should provide a pretty entertaining affair.
I’ve been to live sport plenty of times, seen my fair share of AFL and A-League matches, a little bit of hockey in Italy and even some Bundesliga in Munich, and the atmosphere of the home crowd is something I never stop loving.
The Vietnamese are no exception, dancing in red with the yellow star they sing the anthem with pride and get stuck into the cheers, lighting up the stadium with smartphone lights and generally making themselves known.
My brother and our friends and I settle in with our bags of beer (yes they serve beer in a bag) as the game kicks off. It’s clear from the outset Vietnam mean business, they play hard, attacking football while holding off Indonesia almost completely until 10 minutes in, when a poor attempted clearance from a corner finds the back of the net.
The stadium erupts, we cheer and clink beer bags with joy as the home side look to have a dominant game. But alas that lead would not hold as a little later the Indonesians pushed forward and got lucky through a very basic defensive error. At 1-1, Vietnam’s hard work had seemingly been in vain.
The second half began a little slower until Vietnam found their feet a little and started piling on the pressure. With a magnificent kick the Vietnamese striker found the net once again and everyone once again went crazy.
Vietnam were looking for the final blow to end the Indonesian hopes with wave after wave of attacks while the crowd were doing Mexican wave after Mexican wave in support, but as the end edged nearer it was the Indonesians who struck back.
The Vietnamese goalkeeper attempted a save but let the ball roll through his legs. There it was, 2-2 and despite the final flurry of attempts from the Vietnamese, the game would end in a draw.
It was an amazing evening for myself to watch some entertaining football, although it was a pity the home side couldn’t come away with a win for all their efforts. They will finish the group fixture against Laos and the Philippine’s and should do enough to qualify.
Next year I will miss the Asian Cup being held in Australia so I’m going to get as much out of the Suzuki Cup as I can, and hopefully get a chance to see the final, which will also be played here in Hanoi and should be a cracker.
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