Vietnam's Under-22s beat a resilient Laos in the opening game of the 33rd SEA Games men's football tournament on Wednesday, in what many pundits see as an unconvincing victory.
Despite opening the scoring through Nguyen Dinh Bac's goal in the first half, a bizarre equaliser by Khampane Douangvilay brought the score back to level terms just before the interval.
Vietnam struggled for most part of the second half before regaining the lead late, again through Dinh Bac.
With the withdrawal of Cambodia just before the tournament, the groups now have only three teams each, with the first-placed teams and the best runner-up advances to the semifinals.
Vietnam have always seen success against Laos in the SEA Games with multiple resounding victories.
Lao football however, has shown a great deal of progress during the past few years, with the immediate proof being Vietnam's national team's 2-0 win against Laos in the Asian Cup Qualifiers on November 19.
Injuries are another concern for Kim Sang-sik's team, as key players Nguyen Van Truong and Bui Vi Hao could not make it to the final selection due to knocks at club level.
Vietnam started the match with obvious dominance. Multiple chances fell to Dinh Bac, Khuat Van Khang and Nguyen Thanh Nhan, but they could not find the net. Dinh Bac had the clearest chance in the 26th minute with only the keeper to beat, but his header was parried away.
Dinh Bac was not disappointed for long, as just three minutes later, he tapped in an easy goal after Pham Minh Phuc's cross, scoring the first goal of the 33rd SEA Games.
Laos did not give up easily, and surprised the Vietnamese defence with multiple attacks. One of which resulted in a corner, which rebounded off center-back Nguyen Nhat Minh and hit the woodwork. The ball found its way to Douangvilay, who put the ball into the empty net.
After the break, Vietnam continued to press the Lao defence.
In the 50th minute, Van Khang's corner found Nguyen Hieu Minh, whose header reached Nguyen Quoc Viet. Ninh Binh FC's striker tried to poke the ball into the net, but a Lao defender was able to clear it off the line.
The men in white had three more clear-cut chances later on, but the strikes lacked finesse and Laos was able to fend off attacks after attacks.
The breakthrough came in the 60th minute after Dinh Bac's amazing dribble and shot was too much for the Lao keeper. However, the linesman's flagged Quoc Viet for offside after he was perceived to be interfering with keeper Lokphathip's vision.
A fracas ensued as both sets of coaching staff argued over the disallowed goal. After a discussion between the referee and the linesman, the decision was reversed and Vietnam reclaimed their lead.
In the latter stages of the match, Vietnam kept on pushing as Laos were fatigued. Dinh Bac has many chances to score his hat-trick, but could not make it and the final score was 2-1 to Vietnam, temporarily putting the Golden Star Warriors to the top of Group B.
Kim Sang-sik's men would have eight days to rest, and have a long look at themselves before playing Malaysia on December 12. Laos will have a second chance to progress through, should they win against Malaysia on December 6.
