Captain Rizky Ridho Ramadhadi of Indonesia (No 5, red) and defender Nguyễn Ngọc Thắng (No 5, white) and forward Nguyễn Văn Tùng of Việt Nam vie for the ball during their semi-final match on May 13 at the Phnom Penh National Olympic Stadium. Indonesia wins 3-2. VNA/VNS Photos

Thanh Hà

HÀ NỘI — Ten-man Indonesia knocked defending champions Việt Nam out of the SEA Games with a 3-2 semi-final win on May 13 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Long-time archrivals of each other, Indonesia entered the match with an extra day's rest after the group stages.

They opened the score just nine minutes into the game.

From Witan Sulaeman's long throw-in, the ball fell to Komang Teguh Trisnanda, who jumped above the Vietnamese defenders to head into the net.

Vietnamese goalkeeper Quan Văn Chuẩn could do nothing to block the ball.

Indonesia, famous for their physique strength, kept attacking while Việt Nam rearranged their line-up and found the match's pace.

It was Nguyễn Văn Tùng who levelled the score for Việt Nam in the 36th minute.

Forward Nguyễn Văn Tùng scores his fifth goal of the tournament. He is a candidate for the top scorer award.

From a corner kick, the ball was provided into the box where Tùng was lurking to head home with his back facing the goal.

Indonesia went ahead again eight minutes into the second half.

It was Sulaeman again having a great throw-in that forced goalie Chuẩn to punch the ball out. It came to Marselino whose straight kick past many Vietnamese and Indonesian players' legs to find the back of the net.

Việt Nam tried to fire back with threatening attempts from both wings via Lê Văn Đô and Võ Minh Trọng, but they couldn't find the net.

The match changed in the 60th minute when Pratama Arhan Alif Rifai received a second booking and was sent off.

Coach Philippe Troussier of Việt Nam immediately strengthened his line-up, with attacking midfielder Khuất Văn Khanh and forward Nguyễn Văn Trường thrown into the fray. 

At the same time, his Indonesian counterpart Indra Syafri improved his defence but replacing two forwards with two defenders.

Việt Nam, with the man advantage, threw bodies forward. Tùng, Khang and Trường tried to dig into the Indonesian defence but were unsuccessful or denied by goalkeeper Ednando Ari Sutaryadi.

In the 79th minute, Nguyễn Ngọc Thắng put the ball into the box. Under threat from substitute Đinh Xuan Tiến, defender Armiruddin Bagas Kaffa Arrizqi turned the ball into his own goal to the score at 2-2.

The goal buoyed Việt Nam, but they couldn't put the game to bed.

In nearly 40 minutes, including added time, of playing a man down, Indonesia had only two attacks and one corner kick. But they were successful within the sixth minute of the added time.

Indonesians celebrate their third goal while Vietnamese players collapse. Việt Nam could not nothing after conceding so late.

However, with just two minutes of injury time remaining from a counter-attack, substitute Muhammad Taufanny Muslihuddin made it 3-2.

Two minutes left was not enough for Việt Nam to level the score. While Indonesian players cried for happiness, the Vietnamese collapsed as it was over for the reigning champion.

Indonesia will play their fourth final on May 16. Their opponent will be the winner of the second semi-finals between Thailand and Myanmar. Việt Nam will play for bronze against the loser. VNS