By Ivan Saldajeno
BINAN--Vietnam made an opening night statement in the Southeast Asian Games men's football tournament after blasting Brunei, 6-0, in the first match for Group B at the Binan Football Stadium on Monday night.
Ha Duc Chinh led the charge for the Vietnamese side with four goals as the squad dominated Brunei from start to finish.
Ha scored the opening goal for Vietnam in the 10th minute off a header and then struck another goal in the 23rd minute as the team entered halftime ahead, 2-0.
Ha then completed his hat trick in the 48th minute before Trieu Viet Hung joined Vietnam's scoring barrage in the 59th minute. Ha capped his double brace with a 66th minute goal to make it 5-0.
Nguyen Trung Hong put the exclamation point to Vietnam's victory with an 83rd minute goal.
Meanwhile, Malaysia and Myanmar battled to a 1-1 draw to start festivities in Group A at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.
Soe Moe Kyaw put Myanmar up in the 13th minute, but Fadi Hayyadh canceled it out with a 24th minute goal.
The draw opened a possibility for the U22 Azkals to go to the top of Group A with a win against Cambodia later Monday.
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