Keeper MohdFirdaus Bin Razali (left) of Malaysia watches the ball during the bronze-medal match at the AFF Futsal Championship. (Source:aseasnfootball.org)
Saiful Nizam sneaked a winner a minute from time for Malaysia to beat Vietnam 6-5 and take the bronze at the ASEAN Football Federation Futsal Championship in Bangkok on October 16.
The gold medal went to 10-times winner Thailand who beat Australia 5-3 in the final match later.
Malaysia had trailed the Vietnamese right from the start and were trailing 5-4 when they hammered in the equaliser in the 16th minute. With time running out Malaysia were awarded a free kick and Fawzul calmly flicked it in.
Vietnam controlled much of the game while taking the lead, and could have wrapped up the game had they made better use of their chances.
They launched numerous offensives and in the fourth minute, Vu Xuan Du broke down the left and crossed to Duong Anh Tung who easily scored the opening goal of the playoff.
Du doubled the score as he scrambled the ball into the goal in the 10th minute.
While Vietnam were in-charge, the Malaysians waited for chances to break away and take a crack at goal.
Their efforts paid off two minutes later when Mohd Khairul Effendy Mohd Bahrin raced in and blasted his team's first goal.
Danh Phat added the third goal for Vietnam at the 14th mark after he raced down the left and drove his grounder surprisingly past the keeper and into the far corner.
Malaysia reduced the gap shortly after a brilliant run from Muhamad Fitri Muhamad Yatim ended with a sizzler past the Vietnamese keeper Ngo Duc Thuan.
With time running out, the Malaysians were awarded a free kick when Pham Duc Hoa brought down Muhammad Shamsul Akmar Zamri. Nizam stepped up and rammed the shot into the top corner to make the score 3-3.
Soon after the break, Vietnam regained the lead with Le Quoc Nam scoring in the third minute. Vietnam stretched the lead to 5-3 in the 30th minute through Ngo Ngoc Son.
To the surprise of all including the fans who had packed the stadium, Malaysia charged back to reel in three goals.
Nizam struck in the 32nd minute and with a minute to go, he completed his hat-trick bringing in the bronze medal for his team.-VNA
