KUALA LUMPUR: Awalluddin gives Malaysia a late 2-1 win Vietnam in Asian futsal opener

KUALA LUMPUR: A last-minute strike by Awalluddin Mat Nawi gave Malaysia a 2-1 win over Vietnam in their opening Group A match at the AFC Futsal Championship in Taipei on Thursday.

Vu Duc Tung fired Vietnam ahead in the 19th minute but Awalludddin drew Malaysia level in the 36th before claiming a dramatic winner just four minutes later.

Victory puts coach Chiew Chun Yong’s side in with a chance of reaching the quarter-finals for the first time ahead of remaining group matches against Taiwan on Saturday and Bahrain on Monday.

“I predicted before the game this was going to be an even-strength match and whichever side made less mistakes would win,” said Chun Yong.

“I’m glad my boys held their nerves and did not give up until the last few seconds. But to be honest, I’m not satisfied with the performance especially in attacking and ball possession.

“We tended to make a lot of mistakes but we will try to correct it before our match against Taiwan.”

The win was Malaysia’s second over Vietnam following a 5-1 victory in the semi-finals of the AFF Championship in Ho Chi Minh City last November.

“I expected Vietnam to press strongly and they did it quite well in the first half,” said Chun Yong, who also led Malaysia to a Sea Games silver medal last year.

“Both sides had the same number of chance but we didn’t take ours.

“Vietnam scored through a set-play but we did not panic and knew we could come back in the second half.”

Malaysia ended a four-match losing run at the AFC Championship since beating Lebanon 5-1 in the 2014 edition, where the national team were denied a last-eight berth due to a 3-2 defeat to Taiwan in the final group game.

“I don’t expect it to be easy against Taiwan because I know how strong they are,” said Chun Yong.

“So we have to be well-prepared.”