THE final of the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup gets to be decided this weekend as Malaysia and Vietnam make one last go at the title when they collide in the second leg of the titular in Hanoi.
With the first leg in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday ending in a 2-2 draw, the two teams now scramble to get the job some in the second leg on Saturday to be crowned this year’s champion of the biennial regional tournament.
Vietnam started strong in the first leg, going up, 2-0, early in the opening half with goals from Nguyen Huy Hung (22’) and Pham Duc Huy (25’).
But the host side would regroup, narrowing its deficit, 2-1, in the 36th minute with a breakthrough goal from Sharul Saad.
Malaysia then levelled the count in the second half as Safawi Rasid found the bottom of the net in the 60th minute.
The two teams tried to fashion out the go-ahead goal but none would come as full time sounded, leaving them to settle for the draw.
The outcome left the title to be decided in the second leg, where Malaysia needs to make up for the two goals they conceded at home.
Despite that, the Malaysians said they are not giving up and vowed to give their all when they return to play at the My Dinh National Stadium in Vietnam.
“We know it won’t be easy to win in Vietnam but I’m sure all my teammates will remain focused and make sure that we’re physically and mentally right to go,” Safawi was quoted as saying by the Suzuki Cup Website.
For Vietnam, which eliminated the Philippines in the semifinals, 4-2, on aggregate, it said it would work hard to finish the job at home.
“Having those two goals and the draw is an advantage, I agree, but not such a big one and we still need to make sure that we don’t concede any goals in the next match in Hanoi,” defender Tran Dinh Trong was quoted as saying.
“We’ve played together for a long, long time. We did our best in this match and also considered the result but we’re not worried too about the draw — the result is not a problem for us and we’re looking forward to the second leg,” he added. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
