It was a slow start to the game as neither side could find the opening goal in the first period, with the only notable effort coming from Malaysia's Muhammad Faris Iman, whose acrobatic attempt was fisted away by Vietnam goalkeeper Nguyen Anh Quang.

In the seventh minute, Mai Van Manh's shot was denied by Malaysia goalkeeper Mohamad Syujak, while Tran Kim Trung's attempt was blocked by Muhammad Akhmal.

Two minutes into the second period, Mohd Saiful Noor's men squandered an easy opportunity when Wan Muhammad Syarif's left-footed effort drifted just wide of an unguarded Vietnam net.

The stalemate was finally broken in the 21st minute with Malaysia's No. 8, Muhamad Hafizal slotting the ball past a crowd of white shirts into the centre of the Vietnam net.

Malaysia heaped further misery on Vietnam in the third period when they doubled their lead through No. 5 Muhammad Faris. The striker darted toward the centre, Phan Dat, and fired a powerful left-footed shot into the net past a rooted Anh Quang.

Two minutes before the end, Vietnam closed the gap with a goal from No. 10 Pham Truong Du, but it was not enough as a minute later, Malaysia's Hafizal scored his second goal of the evening to make it 3-1.