Vietnam take home hard-fought win against Laos

With a boosted spirit after two fabulous victories against Brunei and Malaysia, Vietnam had been confidently looking towards their third win in this year's SEA Games aiming to solidify their Group B top position and superior goal difference to Thailand.

Vietnam imposed an offensive playing style on Laos right from the first whistle with the four attackers Phi Son, Van Toan, Thanh Binh and Cong Phuong.

The game had been expected to be an easy clash for Vietnam against much weaker neighbours; however, Laos proved things were not so easy as they fought bravely to block Vietnam's constant attacks.

Vietnam nearly opened the scoring in the last five minutes of the first half, but Van Toan's final finish after receiving a delightful pass from Duc Huy was too gentle to beat Lao goalkeeper Vathana.

Vietnam coach Toshiya Miura made a small change to the line-up after the break with striker Mac Hong Quan replacing Thanh Binh aiming to increase the power of Vietnam's offensive line.

This adjustment proved effective as Vietnam put mounting pressure on the Lao side in the second half's opening minutes. However, Laos continued showing stubbornness in their defence by patiently blocking attack waves from the Vietnamese side.

Thanh Hien fired Vietnam ahead four minutes after the hour mark with an unstoppable curler on the bottom left corner of the Lao goal, following a wonderful solo performance by his teammate Cong Phuong.

Hien's opening goal gave a strong boost to Vietnam's confidence enabling them to play more comfortably in the following minutes of the match.

Vietnam should have had their advantage widened with time running out, but Hong Quan and Phi Son squandered several opportunities to bring in more goals for their team.

The narrow victory helped Vietnam reclaim the top spot of Group B with nine points and a three-goal advantage on runners-up Thailand, who also beat Malaysia by the same score in another match the same day.

Vietnam will play Timor Leste on June 7 before taking on their last group opponents Thailand three days later.

(Source: Nhandan Online)