Vietnam beat Singapore to take first-leg lead in ASEAN Championship semis

NEW DELHI: Xuan Son Nguyen continued his red-hot form in the ASEAN Championship when he scored in Vietnam’s 2-0 win against Singapore in their semifinal first-leg at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Thursday.

After the contest looked to be ending goalless, the breakthroughs arrived in quick succession in the dying minutes, with the goals coming in three minutes.

Nguyen Tien Linh, who won the tournament five years ago, opened the scoring from spot while Xuan Son Nguyen doubled the lead, scoring 14 minutes into second half stoppage-time. It was his third goal in two games, taking his tally to second in the Golden Boot race in the tournament.

Vietnam has continued its good form after the departure of coach Park-Hang Seo and qualified for the semifinals as Group-B winner. It remained unbeaten in the group stage, with its only draw coming in four games coming against Philippines.

The return leg of the semifinal will be played three days later, at the Viet Tri Stadium, with Thailand eyeing consecutive final spots against Philippines in the other semifinal. Agencies

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