Vietnam crushed Malaysia 5-1 on Tuesday in a tense Group B match of the under-23 men’s football category of the 28th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Singapore.

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The Vietnamese scored four goals before Malaysia got a consolation goal in the 77th minute, and substitute Van Toan fixed the result at 5-1 two minutes later with a lob to send the ball flying over the head of Malaysian goalkeeper Abu Bakar and into the net.

The last two goals were scored when the morale of the Malaysians was lowered by the four opening goals of Vietnam.

Vietnam have earned six points after two games, as they beat Brunei 6-0 in the opener on May 29.

They are in Group B with Timor-Leste, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, and Brunei. The other group – Group A – includes hosts Singapore, Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, and the Philippines.

Vietnam will take on Laos on June 4, Timor-Leste on June 7, and Thailand on June 10 in the remaining games of the group stage.

In the 13th minute of the game yesterday, Vietnamese playmaker Cong Phuong was set up with an advantageous pass by Mac Hong Quan and invaded the Malaysian box but was tackled by defender Azlin Adam.

Mac Hong Quan converted the penalty shot, opening the scoring.

In the last minute of the first half, Cong Phuong extended the lead to 2-0 for Vietnam following a trademark cross to neutralize the obstruction of a rival defender and defeat keeper Bakar.

Vietnam were then awarded another penalty in the first minute of the second half after Phuong was fouled again in the box, and Huy Toan did not miss the chance to lift it to 3-0.

In the 53rd minute, Cong Phuong was given a free kick on the left side and made another trademark shot to send the ball sailing just under the crossbar into the far corner despite the helpless effort by keeper Bakar.

Post-match responsesTuoi Tre

Japanese coach Toshiya Miura of Vietnam entered the press conference after the match with a round of applause from journalists.

“I think we shouldn’t talk highly about Cong Phuong. My team still has other players who contributed to the victory,” said Miura.

“This was really a good game, but I can’t predict anything because football can surprise anyone.

“We won today and we may lose tomorrow.

“I carefully studied the strategy of the Malaysians to limit their strengths and drill into their weaknesses.

“What I am not satisfied with is the injuries of left defender Minh Tung and striker Mac Hong Quan, who were replaced during the game,” he added.

Coach Ong Kim Swee of the Malaysian side expressed his disappointment by saying, “My players made a lot of crazy mistakes in defense and were fined two penalties during the match.”

“We lost to a strong team,” he stressed. “The Vietnamese players had a very good match and I am impressed with number 17 [Mac Hong Quan] and number 10 [Cong Phuong].

“The whole team of Vietnam played the match very well.”

Vietnamese coach Tran Minh Chien said of the 5-1 victory that, “It comes from both a smart way of playing drawn out by coach Toshiya Miura and the excellent performances of many Vietnamese players.”

Miura ordered his players to approach the mach in a calm manner and wait for mistakes by their rivals, Chien noted.

This helped Vietnam control the middle area and the rhythm of the match.

The Vietnamese players should be commended because they completely obeyed the style demanded by their coach.

They were not pulled into the trick of the Malaysians to play ‘a tit for tat’ game but just waited for their errors, Chien said.

In addition, Vietnam have many smart players who had an excellent performance last night, including strikers Cong Phuong and Mac Hong Quan, midfielders Huy Toan and Ngoc Thang, together with Huu Dung and keeper Minh Long in the back line.

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