Surging ahead: Vietnamese striker Tran Phi Son (right) and Brunei midfielder Mohd TAhir Mohd Aminuddin Zakwan during their Group B game at the 28th Sea Games yesterday. Viet Nam won 6-0. — VNA/VNS Photo Quoc Khanh

HA NOI  (VNS) — Viet Nam made a good start to their Southeast Asian (SEA) Games Group B campaign with a six goal haul in the opening match yesterday at the Bishan Stadium, Singapore.

In spite of the scorching heat, Viet Nam received early confidence when striker Le Thanh Binh opened the scoring in 25 minutes with the remaining goals coming in the second half.

After many chances wasted Binh finally found the net when he latched on to a cross from midfielder Pham Duc Huy.

Viet Nam coach Toshyia Miura strengthened his front line with Nguyen Cong Phuong and Mac Hong Quan who played a key role in the Vietnamese attack.

Phuong scored in his SEA Games debut after wasting a penalty. Phuong tried to chip the ball but failed to make it count even though he was the first on the rebound.

Earlier he assisted teammate Tran Phi Son to make it 2-0 at the 48th minute.

Quan's volley from outside of the box was not strong but beat goalkeeper Mohd Dani Mohd Ashanuddin in the 75th minute.

The other goals belonged to midfielder Huy and captain Nguyen Manh Hung.

The Vietnamese score should have been higher but for the crossbar refusing at least three times.

"It was a good result. It was just the result that we were looking for," coach Miura said on aseanfootball.org after the game.

He said his players were not good in the first half but things changed remarkably after a short talk in the interval when he asked for more speed and more passing to put pressure on Brunei.

"I thought that we were balanced in the first half. We only conceded that one goal. But the second half was a different story," said Brunei coach Stephen Ng afterwards.

In another match of the group yesterday, Thailand beat Laos 6-0.

In the second round matches, Viet Nam will play title favourite Malaysia while Brunei face Laos on June 2. — VNS