Two late goals steer Lebanon to victory over Vietnam

Lebanese Ali Attar (C) leads an attack through Vietnamese players Nguyen Manh Dung (L) and Nguyen Trung Kien (2nd R) and an other unidentified Vietnamese player during a qualyfying football match between Vietnam and Lebanon, 31 March 2004 at the Northern city of Nam Dinh. Lebanon won the match 2-0.

Lebanon scored two late goals to beat Vietnam 2-0 here in the second match of their 2006 World Cup Asian qualifying campaign.

In their first game under new coach Edson Tavares, the hosts must have thought they had done enough to share the points, but goals in the 83 and 86 minutes from Roda Antar and Khaled Hamiyye denied them.

Vietnam should have opened the scoring through striker Pham Van Quyen midway through the first half, but he wildly thrashed his half volley into the crowd.

A few minutes later Lebanon captain Youssef Mohamad sent a low free-kick skidding past the lefthand upright. At the opposite end Phan Van Tai Em then knocked a simple header over the bar.

As the rain began to fall in the second half at the Thien Truong Stadium, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of Hanoi, Lebanon gradually began to assert their dominance against a team they were expected to beat comfortably.

Lebanese Rodar Antar (C) fights for the ball with Vietnamese Tran Hai Lam (L) and Nguyen Huy Hoang during a qualyfying football match between Vietnam and Lebanon, at the Northern city of Nam Dinh. Lebanon won the match 2-0.

A 77th-minute header was punched over the bar by keeper Nguyen The Anh at full stretch. Four minutes later the hosts failed to find the back of the net in a goalmouth scramble, but then Lebanon went ahead when Antar smashed in a close range effort.

Down to 10 men after Vietnam defender Nguyen Huy Hoang was red carded, Hamiyye sneaked a right-footed shot from an acute angle into the corner of Anh's net.

Lebanon's Group 7 victory follows their 2-0 loss to South Korea in February's opening qualifying round, during which Vietnam thrashed the Maldives 4-0. Vietnam next face South Korea on June 9, while Lebanon take on the Maldives.