Quick and sharp on the attack, and tough and efficient on defense, the Vietnamese easily followed up their 2-1 win over the Singaporeans Sunday to close in on the semifinal round of the nine-team tourney.
In the second match, Indonesia and Myanmar fought to a scoreless draw.
Vinh easily emerged Vietnam’s brightest star on his four goals all greeted with wild applause by a small group of flag-waving Vietnamese in the gallery.
Most of the Vietnamese crowd came all the way from Iloilo with some just on a brief stopover here on their holiday cruise.
The Vietnam XI didn’t let them go home without seeing a good show.
Aside from Vinh, also coming away with goals for Vietnam were Phan Van Quyen with two and Tran Hai Lam one. Laos’ Kaysone Soukhavona gave the Vietnamese a bonus with an own-goal in the 16th minute.
Vietnam’s Le Bath Hieu returned the compliment only three minutes later also with an own-goal.
The Vietnamese, losing finalists in the 2003 SEA Games and winners of the recent Agri Cup at home turf, practically imposed their will on the Laotians, darting to a commanding 3-0 lead in the first 16 minutes of play.
The Vietnam XI, reportedly given an incentive of $41,000 on their victory over Singapore Sunday, went to enjoy a 6-2 spread at the break.