Malaysia outclass Vietnam 1-0 to take SEA Games title

Malaysia ousted Vietnam 1-0 in the final of the 25th SEA Games men's football tournament in Vientiane yesterday, earning them a well deserved gold medal.

This is the first time Malaysia has taken the SEA Games title since they hosted the event in 1989, when they also topped the football rankings.

During the match, both teams tried desperately to score in the first half. But players and spectators had to wait until the 85th minute before a ball deflected off Vietnamese defender Mai Xuan Hop into the Vietnamese net to put Malaysia ahead through an own goal. The 1-0 score stayed the same until the final whistle.

Malaysia , in Group A, won their first match against Timor Leste 11-0, beat Cambodia 4-0, took out Thailand 2-1, and lost 1-3 to Vietnam . This secured them a berth in the semi-final against Laos , whom they beat 3-1.

Vietnam also played in Group A and got to the final after drawing 1-1 with Thailand , beating Timor 4-0, downing Malaysia 3-1 and hammering Cambodia 6-1. In the semifinal against Singapore they stormed to a 4-1 victory.

In yesterday's other match, Singapore put a stop to the local footballers' dreams by beating Laos 3-1 in the third place playoff at Chao Anouvong Stadium. The result demolished the host's bronze medal hopes.

Laos and Singapore played in Group B. At their previous meeting the result was a 0-0 draw, which was all that each side needed to reach the semifinals.

In their next match Laos faced Malaysia and lost 1-3, while Singapore was knocked out by Vietnam 1-4.

From the start of the match both teams went into attack mode, with each determined to take the third place slot. For the first 20 minutes the ball passed rapidly between the two sides. Laos looked to be the dominant team and held sway in the Singapore half.

Three minutes later, thousands of cheering Lao fans fell quiet when Muhammad Khairul Nizam Bin Mohammad Kamal slipped through the Lao defence and scored for Singapore .

After this first goal the Lao attack increased but they failed to equalise.

In the second half, Singapore stepped up the pace and pressed home their advantage. In the 53rd minute Muhammad Fazli Bin Ayob scored a second goal for Singapore . Even though Laos redoubled their efforts the match slipped away from them and in the 87th minute Muhammad Fadhil Bin Noh clinched a victory for Singapore by raising the score to 3-0.

Even though Lao fans now knew they were destined for fourth place, they had reason to cheer when Lamnao Singto scored two minutes later.

Minutes before the end of the game Kaysone Soukkhavong also made a valiant attempt at another goal but his shot hit the crossbar.

On the final whistle Laos bowed to defeat as the bronze medal finally slipped from their grasp.

After the match Mr Viphet Sihachack said the players lost focus after their loss to Malaysia in the semifinals. They had raised their hopes too high and had become demoralised, he said.

By Souknilundon Southivongnorath
(Latest Update December 18, 2009)