NAYPYITAW (17 Dec 2013) – Defending champions Malaysia advanced to the semi-finals of the men’s football after defeating Vietnam 2-1 in their final Group A match at the Zayar Thiri Stadium today.
The Malaysians only needed a point while Vietnam had to win to make the last four.
The Vietnamese went flat out in search of the goals to destroy Malaysia where they created numerous chances but were either stopped by the hardworking Malaysian defenders or by goalkeeper Mohd Izham Tarmizi Roslan.
Malaysia allowed their opponents to come at them and waited for the opportunity to strike.
“We needed one point. We were not in a hurry and just had to keep our shape and wait for our chances,” said Malaysian coach Ong Kim Swee after the match.
“Any team that needs to win will go all out to attack and that’s when they leave gaps behind.”
And that’s exactly what happened in the last ten minutes of the match.
While the Vietnamese were racing against time to get the goals, they left some gaps at the back which Ashri Chuchu and S. Daarvindran (pix) exploited in the 82nd and 87th minutes.
Vietnam finally scored through Mac Hong Quan in injury time.
With the win, Malaysia now top the group with a total of 10 points. As the winners of Group A, Malaysia have set up a showdown with rivals Indonesia in what is a repeat of the 2011 SEA Games final.
Singapore finished second with seven points and will have to face the mighty Thais in the semifinals on Thursday.
“Vietnam had their chances to score but our goalkeeper and defenders played very well and consistently,” said Kim Swee. He added that his players confidence grew as the match progressed.
Vietnam had a handful of chances but their strikers were unable to get their shots on target. Vu Minh Tuan and Ha Minh Tuan were among those who failed to get their shots in.
Before Malaysia struck the two quick goals, Hong Quan had the best chance of the game in the 78th minute. He sprang down the left and took a crack at goal. His low shot however rolled across a gaping goalmouth. Teammate Hoang Danh Ngoc raced into box to try and connect the cross but missed by inches.
In a quick counter-attack, Ashri collected a cross in the box and blasted past the keeper for the opening goal. Five minutes later, A. Thamil Arasu sped down the centre, relayed to Mohd Irfan Fazail who set up Daarvindran for Malaysia’s second goal.
Added Vietnam coach Hoang Van Phuc: “it was always going to be difficult. We had to come at them and the Malaysians defended very well. The boys tried their very best but we just could not come up with the win.”
In the meantime, Laos edged Brunei 3-2 to finish their campaign in fourth in Group A.
But it was Brunei who found the back of the net first through Mohd Mazizi Mazlan in the 34th minute before Laos drew level with the equaliser off Ketsada Souksavanh four minutes later.
Laos came into the second half stronger and with Brunei still finding their footing, struck twice within a space of just six minutes through Soukaphone Vongchiengkham (46th minute) and Vilayout Xayyabounaou (52nd).
Brunei continued to keep on pressing and seven minutes to the end, they were rewarded with their second goal of the game when Mazwan Ali Rahman scored off a quick counter.
GROUP A FINAL STANDINGS
|
Team |
P |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts |
| MALAYSIA |
4 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
9 |
3 |
+6 |
10 |
| SINGAPORE |
4 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
5 |
2 |
+3 |
8 |
| VIETNAM |
4 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
13 |
3 |
+10 |
6 |
| LAOS |
4 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
12 |
−7 |
4 |
| BRUNEI |
4 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
2 |
14 |
−12 |
0 |
*Teams in bold qualify for semi-finals
