Malaysia suffer first defeat
Published on: Saturday, November 17, 2018
Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia suffered their first loss of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2018 campaign after going down 2-0 to Vietnam in their Group A match at the My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi.Vietnam scored a goal in each half through Nguyen Cong Phuong (11th minute) and Nguyen Anh Duc (60th minute).In front of a packed and noisy home crowd, Vietnam were more clinical on the night and took their chances as the hosts scored from the only two shots that they had at the Malaysian goal. Despite dominating possession, Malaysia struggled to break down the determined Vietnam defence.
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Malaysian coach Tan Cheng Hoe made four changes from the team that beat Laos 3-1 in the previous game with Mohamadou Sumareh, Shahrel Fikri, Akhyar Rashid and Syamer Kutty Abba all starting the match. Vietnam took the lead in the 11th minute when Doan Van Hau was able to sneak behind right back Syahmi Safari and squared the ball that was initially missed by Anh Duc but Cong Phuong was on hand to flick home the opening goal of the match.Malaysia continued to hog the ball but were unable to find a way to break down the Vietnam defence.After the break, substitute Safawi Rasid who came on for Sumareh almost scored with his first touch but his free kick in the 58th minute was saved by the Vietnam goalkeeper.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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The win sees Vietnam top Group A with two more matches remaining while Malaysia can still book their place in the knockout stage by beating Myanmar next week.
