Vietnam crushed Malaysia 5-1 on Tuesday in a tense Group B match of the under-23 men’s football category of the 28th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Singapore.

Vietnamese players celebrate their 5-1 win over Malaysia in their Group B match of the 28th Southeast Asian Games in Singapore on June 2, 2015. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Japanese coach Toshiya Miura of Vietnam entered the press conference after the match with a round of applause from journalists.

“I think we shouldn’t talk highly about Cong Phuong. My team still has other players who contributed to the victory,” said Miura.

“This was really a good game, but I can’t predict anything because football can surprise anyone.

“We won today and we may lose tomorrow.

“I carefully studied the strategy of the Malaysians to limit their strengths and drill into their weaknesses.

“What I am not satisfied with is the injuries of left defender Minh Tung and striker Mac Hong Quan, who were replaced during the game,” he added.

Coach Ong Kim Swee of the Malaysian side expressed his disappointment by saying, “My players made a lot of crazy mistakes in defense and were fined two penalties during the match.”

“We lost to a strong team,” he stressed. “The Vietnamese players had a very good match and I am impressed with number 17 [Mac Hong Quan] and number 10 [Cong Phuong].

“The whole team of Vietnam played the match very well.”

Vietnamese coach Tran Minh Chien said of the 5-1 victory that, “It comes from both a smart way of playing drawn out by coach Toshiya Miura and the excellent performances of many Vietnamese players.”

Miura ordered his players to approach the mach in a calm manner and wait for mistakes by their rivals, Chien noted.

This helped Vietnam control the middle area and the rhythm of the match.

The Vietnamese players should be commended because they completely obeyed the style demanded by their coach.

They were not pulled into the trick of the Malaysians to play ‘a tit for tat’ game but just waited for their errors, Chien said.

In addition, Vietnam have many smart players who had an excellent performance last night, including strikers Cong Phuong and Mac Hong Quan, midfielders Huy Toan and Ngoc Thang, together with Huu Dung and keeper Minh Long in the back line.

Source Tuoitre