Vietnam seal SEA Games soccer gold

MANILA: Vietnam cruised their way to the Southeast Asian Games men’s football title on Tuesday night with a routine 3-0 win in the final over Indonesia in Manila.

The Golden Dragons, who went into the gold medal match as firm favourites, were rarely tested at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. Star man Doan Van Hau, who plays in the Dutch top league, opened the scoring after 39 minutes, latching on to a Do Hung Dung free kick from the edge of the box for a close-range header. Vietnam made it 2-0 in the 59th minute after a scuffed Indonesia clearance fell to Do Hung Dung, who buried his shot from the edge of the box. Doan Van Hau scored his second and his team’s third when Indonesia goalkeeper Winata Nadeo flapped at a wide free kick from Nguyen Hoang Duc straight into the path of the SC Heerenveen defender who slotted home from near the left hand post on 70 minutes.

The 19-year-old celebrated by unfurling a Vietnam scarf in front of fans. Shortly after Vietnam’s South Korean coach Park Hang-seo was shown a red card for his reaction to a refereeing decision, although it was unclear what he said. However, after the final whistle was blown, Park returned to the pitch to celebrate with his players, who threw him into the air and sprayed him with water.