Myanmar's Ayeyawady United overcame Laos' Attapeu 5-4 in a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw in normal time in the opening match of the Mekong Football Championships, which is taking place at Go Dau Stadium in the southern province of Binh Duong.

South Korean midfielder Kim Sung-min put Ayeyawady ahead with a header after 67 minutes, but Attapeu levelled the match just five minutes later with a 20m screamer to force a penalty shootout.

Ayeyawady United, Myanmar's National League's champions, enjoyed more possession and kept Hoang Anh Attapeu's keeper Dang Van Lam busy, but the match remained goalless until the interval.

Attapeu started the second half well and caused problems for Ayeyawady, but the Myanmar side rallied quickly to push back their opponents.

The deadlock was finally broken after 67 minutes as unmarked Kim rose high to head in Nay Lin Tun's cross from the right into the top corner.

Their joy was short-lived when Attapeu found the equaliser in the 72th minute. Attapeu later held on until the final whistle despite playing with ten men for the last seven minutes. — VNS