AIFF Media Team

BHUBANESWAR: Vanuatu edged Mongolia 1-0 to end their Hero Intercontinental Cup 2023 campaign on a positive note at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Thursday, June 15.

While Vanuatu finished with three points from as many matches, Mongolia have only one point to show from their drawn encounter against Lebanon. The result also ensured Lebanon’s place in the final against India to be played on Sunday, June 18 at 7:30 pm.

The two sides were evenly matched, as they produced some end-to-end attacking football right from the start. In the 10th minute, Mongolia had the chance to draw the first blood when Ganbold Ganbayar led a move from a counter-attack. The forward decided to take an attempt on goal from a difficult angle and his shot was comfortably blocked by Vanuatu goalkeeper Massing Kalotang.

The island nation retaliated with an equally dangerous attacking move in the 16th minute. Jordy Tasip received the ball in the danger area via John Well Wohale. However, the attacker could not keep his attempt on target as the ball trickled wide off the left post.

In the 36th minute, Mongolia had a golden opportunity to take the lead. After winning the ball in the rivals’ half, Baatartsogt Namsrai ran ahead and passed the ball to Ganbayar inside the box. This time, the forward couldn’t get much power behind his shot and the ball landed straight into the goalkeeper’s safe hands.

Before the half-time whistle, Vanuatu too came close to scoring the opener when Tasip found some space outside the box. The midfielder fired the ball on target, but goalkeeper Enkhtaivan Munkh-Erdene did well to parry his fierce shot away. Vanuatu enjoyed the majority of possession in the first 45 minutes and also registered more attempts on target than their counterparts.

Seconds after the restart, Vanuatu took the lead when Mongolia’s Gantuya Gantogtokh committed the error of accidentally putting the ball in his own goal while making an attempt to clear it after Godin Tenene dribbled past the Mongolian defenders from the left flank to cross inside the penalty box.

After conceding the goal, Mongolia charged forward in numbers to find the equaliser, but in the end, nothing came to fruition as Vanuatu held on to the win. Vanuatu defender Jason Thomas was named the Hero of the Match.