Vietnam win second AFF Cup trophy

Nguyen Anh Duc became the hero as he scored the only goal in the sixth minute from an excellent cross by midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai.

After a 2-2 draw in the first leg at Bukit Jalil in Kuala Lumpur, Vietnam had a slight advantage compared to visitors Malaysia as they had two away goals in Malaysia, but both teams were determined to win at My Dinh last night.

Veteran striker Anh Duc returned to the starting lineup to replace Duc Chinh after missing the first leg, while Hung Dung replaced Duc Huy in the centre. With those two changes, coach Park Hang-seo was aiming at improving the scoring ability of the attacking line, as well as consolidating the midfield, with two defending midfielders in support of the three-man defensive line.

Although having an advantage with two away goals, Park's side were active in dictating the tempo of the final second leg right from the off. Their efforts paid off as the home team suddenly found the opener in the 6th minute. Quang Hai delivered a superb cross into the Malaysian box. The ball found Anh Duc and the veteran striker immediately executed a critical finish by launching a volley to beat Malaysian keeper Farizal Marlias. Vietnam took an early lead in the jubilant atmosphere at My Dinh Stadium.

Conceding a goal did not cause the visitors to slump. They still showed calm and great determination. Mohamadou Sumareh had a golden chance to level the score in the 12th minute but his speculative backheel in the box went narrowly wide.

The red-shirt players responded two minutes later as midfielder Hung Dung tried his luck at Farizal’s goal with a shot from over 30m but he sliced wide shortly after the half hour mark.

The pressure of the game increased as fierce collisions appeared frequently on the pitch. The referee had to give six yellow cards in the first half to players of both sides.

Just before the close of the first half, defender Syahmi Safari fired towards the top corner of Vietnam’s goal but goalkeeper Dang Van Lam was concentrated to deliver a fine save. The marginal 1-0 lead was maintained in the favour of the home team after the first half.

Manager Tan Cheng Hoe’s side threatened again just five minutes to the second half but Van Lam was excellent again to deny Sumareh’s header from Safawi’s corner, before Syamer Kutty’s follow-up effort was well blocked by defender Do Duy Manh.

The tempo of the game in the remaining minutes slowed down as the hosts actively sat back to defend their 1-0 lead, while the visitors encountered a range of difficulties to find a way to break the Vietnamese defensive line.

Van Lam then saved again from Safawi’s free-kick, but the home team also threatened in the final 20 minutes with Hung Dung and substitute Nguyen Phong Hong Duy’s efforts.

In the final few minutes, Malaysia appeared to run out of ideas as Vietnam stood firm in defending their lead.

No more goals were scored until the final whistle, and Vietnam wrapped up the thrilling dramatic match with the narrow 1-0 win. The home team are officially AFF Suzuki Cup 2018 champions, beating Malaysia 3-2 on aggregate after the two legs.

This is the first AFF Cup championship title in a decade for Vietnam and also only their second in history. They were granted the trophy right after the match while football fan nationwide enjoyed a big fest last night.

Midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai was honoured with the Most Valuable Player award for his outstanding performance at the tournament.

Vietnamese fans celebrated in every corner across the country last night to cheer the emphatic victory by the home team.