Vietnam opened the door for a date with the football semifinals at the 2009 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games by beating Malaysia 3-1 in a crucial group A tie on Sunday.
The Vietnamese side, led by the Portuguese coach Henrique Calisto, controlled the match from the outset. All four goals were scored in the first half.
The keenly-contested affair saw Malaysian striker and skipper Mohd Zaquan Adha Abdul Raza shown a red card near the end of the game for a hard tackle on Tien Thanh.
Vietnam entered the game on the back of its morale-boosting 1-1 draw against defending champions Thailand, while Malaysia had earlier thrashed Timor Leste 11-0 in their first game on Wednesday.
But pressure mounted early on for Malaysia after it conceded a penalty just 12 minutes in to the game for a handball inside the box.
Phan Thanh Binh successfully beat Malaysian custodian Farizal Marlias to hand Vietnam a 1-0 lead.
In the 25th minute, a defensive lapse allowed striker Mai Tien Thanh to squeeze in a second goal.
However a minute later, Malaysia was hand-delivered an invitation back into the game after defender Vo Hoang Quang scored an own-goal; making it 2-1.
But the Vietnamese defense absorbed the pressure from the Malaysians and with seconds remaining to the end of the first half, Nguyen Trong Hoang unleashed a grounder to beat Farizal for the third time in the game.
The second half saw Vietnam sitting back on its lead by adopting a defensive stand to the remaining 45 minutes of the game.
Despite adding more firepower upfront by introducing Mohd Zaquan Adha Abdul Razak, Malaysia couldn’t break down the Vietnamese defense.
At the post-match news conference, Malaysia coach Krishnasamy Rajagobal, said his side’s loss was partly brought on by South Korean referee Kim Jong Hyoek.