Malaysia 1-2 Vietnam: No bite in the tigers
Vietnam takes a one goal lead back to Hanoi as they trumped a lacklustre Malaysia.
Vietnamese players celebrated the 2-1 victory over Malaysia. Photo by Dtinews.vn
A capacity crowd at Shah Alam Stadium bear witness to the first leg of the 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup semi-final between Malaysia and Vietnam. With the absence of Shukor Adan and Amri Yahyah, Dollah Salled placed his hopes on Fadhli Shas and S. Kunanlan respectively. However, there was further change as Gary Steven Robbat was dropped to the bench and Hafiz Kamal was given his first start of the tournament. On the opposite side, Toshiya Miura opted for Vo Huy Toan for the unavailable Vu Minh Tuan.
Vietnam were the first to ask the questions as Ngo Hoang Thinh threatens to open the scoring in the 4th minute after Malaysia carelessly gave the ball away. However, his curling shot was just wide of Khairul Fahmi’s post. Just six minutes later, it was Lee Cong Vinh’s turn to have a go but his shot was to meek to cause any great concern for the home side.It took Malaysia 12 minutes to fashion their first threat on Vietnam’s goal. Azamuddin Akil’s cross was aimed towards Safee Sali but Le Phuoc Tu managed to get across to clear it for a corner kick. The corner kick was cleared onto the path of Mahali Jasuli whose goal-bound shot was blocked by the arm of a Vietnam defender. Referee, Ma Ning did not hesitate to point to the penalty spot. Safiq was the calmest man in the stadium as he sent Tran Nguyen Manh the wrong way to give Malaysia the lead.
Going a goal down did not deter the spirit of the Vietnam players as they started to take hold of the match. Muslim Ahmad was shown the yellow card in the 26th minute for taking down Nguyen Van Quyet. There was some scuffle before the free kick was taken and Que Ngoc Hai went down theatrically but it did not fool the officials.
Malaysia’s defence were in sixes and sevens, lacking a leader’s voice at the back and Vietnam took advantage of it in the 32nd minute. From a quick-fire counter attack, Cong Vinh was through on goal but saw his powerful drive palmed away by Khairul Fahmi. However, the clearance fell kindly Vo Huy Toan, who gleefully accepted the invitation to score.
As the first half came to a close, it was Vietnam who had the chance to take the lead through another counter attack. This time though, Zubir Azmi was on hand to make a last ditch block to deny Hoang Thinh. Ma Ning signalled for half time to send Dollah into the dressing room, wondering how he could shore up his midfield to prevent any further damage from Vietnam’s quick conter-attacks.
There was some fight shown by the home team at the start of the second half as they press to find another goal. After some good work from Zubir on the left hand side, Safee Sali only managed to scuffed his shot wide. The same happened to Hoang Thinh on the other end of the pitch.
As the hour mark approaches, Vietnam struck the next blow. Switching play from the left to the right, Van Quyet was released inside the box. His first touch got him away from Zubir and his left footed finish was sumptuous, right into the corner of the goal. Malaysian defenders were caught ball watching and it might turn out to be crucial in the grand scheme of things.
Just 9 minutes later, from yet another careless giveaway in the midfield, Vietnam launched their customary counter attack and Cong Vinh had the chance to strike at goal. It took a last ditch dive from Muslim to block the experienced striker’s shot.
Changes to the home team as Gary was sent on to shore up the gaps in midfield while Manaf Mamat replaced the anonymous Norshahrul Idlan. Still, majority of the chances fell the way of the visitors as even with the changes, Vietnam kept finding pockets of space between Malaysia’s midfield and defence.
Even though Malaysia kept plugging away in search of the equaliser, they found Vietnam’s defence to be a tough one to crack. As rain teems down heavily in the final quarter of the match, it also meant the end of the hopes of the home team in searching for parity in the match. As if the result wasn’t bad enough, scuffles ensued in the stands between both sets of fans.
It finished 2-1 to the visitors and a mammoth task awaits Harimau Malaya in the second leg of the semi-final. Plenty of work has to be done by Dollah and his coaches, if they still harbour any hopes of reaching the final.
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