Solid defending: National player Stuart Wilkin finding it hard to get past Vietnamese players at the My Dinh National Stadium. - Bernama
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia found Vietnam too hot to handle and went down 0-3 in their third Group B match in the AFF Mitsubishi Cup.
After 33 minutes into the game, Vietnam broke the deadlock when Nguyen Tien Linh headed home off a corner at the My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi on Tuesday.
Vietnam were then reduced to 10 men after Nguyen Van Toan received his second yellow card but it did not stop their relentless attack.
The hosts earned a contentious penalty in the 60th minute when defender Azam Azmi Murad was deemed to have elbowed his Vietnamese opponent while the ball was already out of play.
The referee Ryuji Sato stuck with the decision to award the penalty despite protests from Malaysian players and flashed the red card at Azam.
Que Ngoc Hai converted from the spot and Vietnam extended their lead with Nguyen Van Toan scoring in the 83rd minute.
Vietnam thus continued their six-year unbeaten record against Malaysia as they sit on top of Group B with their second straight win from as many matches.
Malaysia need to beat Singapore in their final Group B match on Jan 3 at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium to be assured of a place in the last four.
Earlier, Singapore overcame a resilient Laos 2-0 at the New Laos National Stadium in Vientiane.
