Vietnam Down Singapore With Two Late Goals

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 26 (Bernama) -- Two-time champions Vietnam had to work hard before securing a comfortable 2-0 win over Singapore in the first leg of the 2024 ASEAN Cup semi-final at Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore, tonight.

In the dramatic clash, the visitors' two goals came in second-half injury time through a penalty from substitute Nguyen Tien Linh and a clever finish from naturalised player Nguyen Xuan Son.

Earlier, Xuan Son missed a golden opportunity to put Kim Sang Sik's side ahead when his shot went wide of the right-hand side of the goal in the 37th minute.

Vietnam, who continued to attack, once again had the best chance to break the deadlock but Bui Vi Hao's attempt also went wide of the right-hand side of the goal in the 63rd minute.

Five minutes later, Singapore, who had to play in a small capacity venue, almost got the opening goal, but Mohamad Taufik Suparno's powerful shot was saved by goalkeeper Nguyen Dinh Trieu.

Xuan Son was once again denied when his beautiful goal in the penalty box in the 84th minute was disallowed by the referee after a video assistant referee (VAR) review found the ball had been touched by the Brazilian-born player's hand.

Singapore, managed by Tsutomu Ogura, was eventually punished with a penalty after his substitute Shakir Hamzah was blamed for touching the ball which saw Tien Linh calmly netting the Golden Star Warriors' opening goal.

Vietnam, the 2008 and 2018 champions, then completed their stylish victory after Xuan Son added a second goal late in the game, putting the team one step closer to the final to make up for the disappointment of missing out on the stage in the last edition.

The second semi-final between Vietnam and Singapore is scheduled to take place this Sunday at the Viet Tri Stadium.

-- BERNAMA