Sai Gon Xuan Thanh missed the chance to qualify for the final 16 yesterday. With one game in hand, the team failed to score against India's East Bengal in the second round of the AFC Cup.—Photo thethaovanhoa.vn

HCM CITY(VNS) — Sai Gon Xuan Thanh (SGXT) missed the chance to qualify for the final 16 yesterday. With one game in hand, the team failed to score against India's East Bengal in the second round of the AFC Cup.

A boring match ended goalless, as neither team were well-connected or cohesive enough to score a single goal throughout the 90-minute game.

SGXT enjoyed more possession in the first 20 minutes of the first half, when East Bengal relied on frequent counter-attacks.

The home team was easily kept at bay by an organised and disciplined defence, but there was a lack of connection and cohesion up front, where Emeka Ndubuisi Oguwike and Christian Jose Nsi Amougou were largely unsuccessful.

The match started to sparkle when East Bengal decided to commit more players to the other half of the field, but their attacking players were no better than the home team.

SGXT came close to opening the score in the second half when Moses's header was just inches away from the post, but the rest of the second half was most notable for stupid mistakes.

"I was delighted with the score because some key players did not recover from their injuries so we had to field some young players," SGXT's head coach, Tran Tien Dai, said.

Meanwhile, East Bengal's head coach, Trevor Morgan, was happy with the one point his team got at Thong Nhat Stadium, although he had expected better performance from his players.

"We did not have much of a showing today, but I was delighted with the one point we got in this match because SGXT had some good players," said Morgan.

SHB Da Nang, the other Vietnamese competitor in the AFC Cup, had a more impressive showing. The team secured a ticket to the next round with one game in hand.

Le Huynh Duc's players overcame Maziya of the Maldives 3-2 yesterday at the national stadium, Male, in their second match at the competition. — VNS