The Golden Star Warriors got another three points thanks to the efforts of Nguyen Van Tung and Nguyen Thai Son, and an own goal from a Singaporean defender.
However, a clumsy last-minute own goal from Vu Tien Long denied Philippe Troussier and his team a flawless performance and proved to be a thorn in Vietnam’s side during their post-match analysis.
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Vietnamese team (in white) have a 3-1 victory against Singapore. |
Contrary to their first match against Laos, Vietnam struggled to break through Singapore's defense in the game's early stages.
It took 35 minutes for the men in red to find the opening goal. From a decisive counter-attack, Le Van Do’s through ball found Tung, who fired home his second goal this tournament.
Vietnam continued to take control of the match and capitalized from a mistake by Fathullah Rahmat at the edge of the box. The Singaporean failed first touch rebounded to Thai Son, who scored marvelously from 18m and doubled Vietnam’s lead just two minutes before the break.
Troussier's men continued to push on, as Singapore's resistance seemed futile. Chance came for substitutes Khuat Van Khang, Nguyen Quoc Viet and Nguyen Van Truong but was squandered.
The third goal did come for the men in red, albeit not from one of their players. In the 79th minute, a low cross from Khang forced Ilhan Noor to backheel into his own net.
In the final minute of added time, a somewhat harmless cross by Singapore's Syahadat Masnawi met Long, whose clearance turned into a lob over his keeper Quan Van Chuan and went into the back of the net, granting Singapore their consolation goal.
With this result, Vietnam temporarily tops Group B. The defending champions will have a five-day break to fine-tune their performance before facing their two toughest opponents of the group, Malaysia on May 8 and Thailand on May 11.
The same day, Vietnam defeated Malaysia 3-0 in their first Group A match of the 32nd SEA Games women’s football in Cambodia.
It was not difficult for the defending champions to overwhelm Malaysia from the first minutes of the match.
Striker Pham Hai Yen opened the score for Vietnam in the fifth minute. From Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy’s right-wing pass, Yen found the back of the net. The Hanoian has now scored in four SEA Games in a row since 2017.
Another chance came to Vietnam in the 16th minute. Nguyen Thi My Anh popped up in the penalty area and shot, but the ball hit the crossbar. Yen got on the rebound and forced an excellent save from goalkeeper Ezza Razak.
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The happiness of Vietnamese girls |
In the 25th minute, Bich Thuy doubled the score for the Vietnamese side. In the 34th minute, Vietnamese girls had the third goal.
The victory over Malaysia helps Vietnam temporarily rise to the top of Group A. On May 6, Vietnam will face Myanmar.
Source: PANO/VNA
Translated by Chung Anh