May 4, 2023
HANOI — Việt Nam under-22s beat Singapore 3-1 in their second match of the 32nd SEA Games men’s football tournament.
The Golden Star Warriors got another three points courtesy of Nguyễn Văn Tùng, Nguyễn Thái Sơn and an own goal from a Singaporean defender.
However, a clumsy last-minute own goal from Vũ Tiến Long denied Philippe Troussier and his team a flawless performance and will prove to be a thorn in Việt Nam’s side during their post-match analysis.
Contrary to their first match against Laos, Việt Nam struggled to break through Singapore’s defence in the game’s early stages.
It took 35 minutes for the men in red to find the opening goal. From a decisive counter-attack, Lê Văn Đô’s through ball found Tùng, who fired home his second goal this tournament.
Việt Nam continued to take control of the match and capitalised from a mistake by Fathullah Rahmat at the edge of the box. The Singaporean failed first touch rebounded to Thái Sơn, who scored marvellously from 18m and doubled Việt Nam’s lead just two minutes before the break.
Troussier’s men continued to push on, as Singapore’s resistance seemed futile. Chances came for substitutes Khuất Văn Khang, Nguyễn Quốc Việt and Nguyễn Văn Trường but was squandered.
The third goal did come for the men in red, albeit not from one of their players. In the 79th minute, a low cross from Khang forced Ilhan Noor to backheel into his own net.
But it was not just the Singaporeans who made comedic mistakes.
In the final minute of added time, a somewhat harmless cross by Singapore’s Syahadat Masnawi met Long, whose clearance turned into a lob over his keeper Quan Văn Chuẩn and went into the back of the net, granting Singapore their consolation goal.
With this result, Việt Nam temporarily top Group B. The defending champions will have a five-day break to fine-tune their performance before facing their two toughest opponents of the group, Malaysia on May 8 and Thailand on May 11. — VNS