VAS Reds and VAS Greens with Jim Kiernan and the Vietnamese and Irish flags
VAS Greens 7.08 (29pts)
VAS Reds 5.13 (28pts)
On Saturday, 19 November 2011, the third edition of the annual VAS Gaelic Cup was played at the Thanh Long (Ascending Dragon) astroturf pitch in Hanoi and organised by members of the Viet Celts GAA club.
For the first time, the VAS Gaelic Cup was included as part of the VAS Games, which is a festival of sport for the students of the Vietnam Australia School (VAS) in the My Dinh district of Hanoi. All of the students are Vietnamese.
The participants this year in the Gaelic Football were students from years 7, 8 and 9 (U13-U15) divided into two rival teams, VAS Reds and VAS Greens. The game was 9-a-side played over two halves of twenty minutes.
Throw in at the start of the first half
First Half
VAS Reds powered into a commanding lead during the first half, thanks in part to some great combination play between midfielders, Tran Trung Hieu and Ha Trong Nghia together with their forwards Dam Luong Anh and Nguyen The Hung. They cut through the VAS Greens midfield and defence and scored some well-angled points and four fine goals. Half time saw VAS Reds in front 4.8 (20pts) to 2.4 (10pts). At this stage, VAS Greens looked to have left themselves with too much to do.
VAS Reds with Jim Kiernan and the Vietnamese Flag
Second Half
However VAS Greens fought their way back into the game in the second half with some great defending by Nguyen Trong Tan and Phan Dang Nghia, impressive highfielding by Nguyen Duc Anh and Tran Binh Minh , slick passing and scores from midfielder Nguyen Thanh Dat and a fantastic man of the match performance from full forward, Do Le Anh Quoc. After scoring consistently throughout the second half, he leveled the scores with two minutes to go, with a classy left-footed goal after soloing through three players and won the game with a well taken point with 30 seconds left on the clock.
Presentation
Bevan Marshall of New Zealand presented medals to both sides after the game. Thanks to Nguyen Van Tien, Colm Ross, Ta Viet Hoang and Nguyen Duc Huy for their help with the logistics and organisation.
Jim Kiernan
Photos: Colm Ross
