Vietnam held by reigning champions Thailand in 1st leg AFF Cup final

Vu Van Thanh scored a late resounding goal for Vietnam in the AFF Cup first-leg final to hold 2-2 with defending champions Thailand on Friday, and his team will have to make enormous efforts to invert in the second leg three days later.

With the draw at the My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam and Thailand, the two most recent champions in the regional AFF Cup, will play a life-or-death game on Monday to determine who will be the regional kings.

Korean tactician Park Hang-seo’s side took the lead after 25 minutes in the first leg as Nguyen Tien Linh’s flying header inside the box found the Thailand net from a pass by Vietnam defender Que Ngoc Hai.

Thailand coach Alexandre Polking, a Brazilian, and his squad continued to get surprised several minutes later with Vietnam’s high balls toward their goalkeeper, but they managed to control the game better during the rest of the first half.

Striker Tien Linh scored seven minutes after his firing header but the goal was disallowed because he fouled the Thai goalkeeper. Thailand captain Theerathon Bunmathan's free-kick hit the crossbar just a few minutes before break time.

Just a few minutes after the break, Arjvirai scored with a strong shot to tie the score. His teammate Chamratsamee then turned the score around with a shot outside the box to defeat Vietnam keeper Dang Van Lam, who had earlier kept his net clean for 540 minutes in the six previous matches.

When the game came closer to the final whistle, substitute Vu Van Thanh took advantage of the Thai defense system’s clearance and scored the equalizer with a rocket shot outside the penalty box. His late and decisive goal keeps Vietnam’s hope alive but their Thai rivals have advantages before their home second-leg final in the frenzied heat of Bangkok thanks to two goals away.