Kuala Lumpur: Vietnam remain firmly on course after beating Cambodia 4-1 in a Kuala Lumpur 2017 Sea Games Group B tie at the Shah Alam Stadium on Thursday.
Vietnam, who started their bid for a first SEA Games gold since 1959 with a 4-0 win over Timor-Leste on August 15, were quick to seize control of proceedings against Cambodia who desperately needed the three points after having been beaten 2-0 by Philippines in their opening tie.
Vietnam were superior in every aspect and had they been sharper in front of goal, the three points would have been sealed in the first half, as they had done against Timor-Leste where they took a 3-0 lead into the break.
Instead, they had to wait till first half stoppage time before finding the net and it was a well worked goal with some neat passing involving Luong Xuan and Van Toan,who split the Cambodia defence open for Cong Phuang (pictured above) - who had scored once against Timor-Leste - to slot home.
Vietnam continued to maintain control in the second half, with Cambodia struggling to stamp their mark and they were soon made to pay the price.
Vietnam's second goal was cheaply given away as Quang Hai's free-kick from the right not only beat a poor wall but was allowed to bounce twice before finding the back of the net in the 70th minute.
Five minutes later, a poorly defended free-kick again gave Vietnam their third goal, with Cong Phuang finding the target from just over 20 yards out.
Vietnam were not finished, adding a fourth just a minute later, as Ho Tuan Tai slotted home from a counter-attack.
Cambodia pulled one back in the 83rd minute through a penalty converted by Nen Sothearoth but it was Vietnam who walked tall at the final whistle, as their bid for SEA Games gold continues on a perfect note.
Group A
Results
August 14: Myanmar 2-0 Singapore, Malaysia 2-1 Brunei
August 16: Singapore 1-2 Malaysia, Myanmar 3-1 Laos
Standings
Team
P W D L F A Pts Myanmar 2 2 0 0 5 1 6 Malaysia 2 2 0 0 4 2 6 Brunei 1 0 0 1 2 1 0 Laos 1 0 0 1 1 3 0 Singapore 2 0 0 2 1 4 0
Fixtures
August 18: Laos v Singapore, Brunei v Myanmar
August 21: Brunei v Laos, Malaysia v Myanmar
August 23: Laos v Malaysia, Singapore v Brunei
Group B
Results
August 15: Indonesia 1-1 Thailand, Vietnam 4-0 Timor-Leste, Cambodia 0-2 Philippines
August 17: Vietnam 4-1 Cambodia, Indonesia v Philippines, Thailand v Timor-Leste
Standings
Team
P W D L F A Pts Vietnam 2 2 0 0 8 1 6 Philippines 1 1 0 0 2 0 3 Indonesia 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 Thailand 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 Timor-Leste 1 0 0 1 0 4 0 Cambodia 2 0 0 2 1 6 0
Fixtures
August 20: Philippines v Vietnam, Timor-Leste v Indonesia, Thailand v Cambodia
August 22: Cambodia v Timor-Leste, Philippines v Thailand, Vietnam v Indonesia
August 24: Indonesia v Cambodia, Thailand v Vietnam, Timor-Leste v Philippines
August 26: Semi-finals
August 29: Final
Photos: MASOC
Source: the-afc.com