The 10-man Olympic Vietnam beat Iran 2-0 in the last round Saturday to crown the championship title of the invitational tournament Eximbank Cup in Ho Chi Minh City to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.
After taking a 1-0 lead with the goal by Anh Duc, the hosts Vietnam had to play with ten men at the start of the second half but braced up their attacking formation to double the score at the 80th minute.
In the 45th minute, Duc Thien curved a flying pass from the left wing to striker Anh Duc speeding down into Iran box and heading home the opening goal.
Just two minutes into the second half of the game, Anh Duc -- who scored three goals for Vietnam at the tourney -- was given a red card for fouling a rival.
Iran began piling up pressure towards the Vietnam’s field by launching long attacks with flying passes. However, the hosts’ defensive wall turned all of them down from outside the box.
Ten minutes before the end, Dinh Tung was set up in the left side and dribbled the ball into Iran box and slotted the ball through the legs of Iranian goalkeeper to fix a 2-0 victory for Vietnam.
In the 89th minute, Iran central defender Kar Rasoul was booked a second yellow card of the tense match and had to leave the field.
In the other match, Malaysia held Singapore to a goalless draw.
After three rounds, Vietnam scored seven points from two wins and a draw at the four-team event. Iran followed with four points, Singapore pocketed three from all three ties and Malaysia with one point.
