Vietnam beat Malaysia for 2nd straight win at Southeast Asian championship

November 23, 2016 | 17:44

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Vietnam have placed one foot in the semifinals of the ongoing 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup after beating Malaysia 1-0 during their second group stage game in Myanmar on Wednesday.

Both teams won their opener matches on Sunday, with Vietnam beating the co-hosts Myanmar 2-1 and Malaysia came from behind to defeat Cambodia 3-2.

In Wednesday's game, the two sides ended the first half goalless, with the scorching heat of 35 degrees Celsius appearing to take a toll on the players. The referee indeed allowed the players to have a minute break to drink water in the 30th minute.

The Vietnamese had much more chances in the second half, with rising star Cong Phuong called from the bench, but still failed to convert as Malaysia exhibited tough defense.

However, following several misses, Trong Hoang finally scored the winning goal for Vietnam in the 80th minute, when he got an assist inside the box and skillfully dribbled the ball past a defender before netting the goal.

The Malaysians rushed to equalize the game but all efforts failed in five minutes extra time.

With two straight wins, Vietnam are now the Group B leaders.

Cambodia will play Myanmar in the other second Group B game later today at 6:30 pm (Vietnam time). If Cambodia draw Myanmar, Vietnam will secure the group's first semifinal ticket.

The AFF Suzuki Cup 2016 is co-hosted by Myanmar and the Philippines between November 19 and December 17.

Eight teams are competing for the trophy, with Group A including Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia.

On Tuesday, Thailand secured the first semifinal ticket of Group A after beating Singapore 1-0. The Thais earlier trounced Indonesia 4-2 in the opener.

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