Vietnam defeated hosts Turkmenistan 1-0 to advance to the men’s futsal quarter-finals at the ongoing Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games on Thursday.

The only goal was scored by Ngoc Son in the 15th minute, who converted his teammate Minh Tri’s perfect pass from the home ground into the opener.

Playing under heavy pressure of more than 2,000 local supporters for Turkmenistan, Vietnam had a poor start, letting the home side set up their domination and create a series of attacks.

Fortunately, the Southeast Asian side built up a strong defence to protect goalie Van Huy and remained unbreakable against Turkmenistan’s attempts.

The hosts came especially close to scoring twice -- when one of their finishes hit the post and a nine-metre kick was missed.

It was Việt Nam’s third win at the tournament, after beating Hong Kong 8-0 and Solomon Islands 2-1. Earlier they lost 1-2 to Chinese Taipei.

With nine points, Vietnam are leaders in Group A. Turkmenistan, who also have nine points but lower goal difference, are second. Vietnam will play Uzbekistan while the hosts will face Afghanistan in the next round on Saturday.

The other quarter-final matches are Iran vs Thailand, and Japan vs Jordan. 

VNS