SINGAPORE national coach Raddy Avramovic paid tribute to his players after they defeated Vietnam and got their SEA Games medal hopes back on track yesterday.

After a disappointing 0-0 draw with Laos on Saturday, Singapore badly needed a win to keep their semi-finals hopes alive.

A comprehensive all-round display saw the Singapore Under-23s clinched a 3-2 win and picked up their first win of the tournament.

After the game, Avramovic heaped praise on his players for their character and clinical play that enabled them to establish a 3-0 lead by half-time.

He said: 'We were excellent both technically and in terms of the intensity we showed. It was a quality display of strength and commitment.

'Most importantly, the players played to instructions and gave their best out there.'

Singapore's attempt to play a high tempo game from the start paid dividends after just six minutes.

Singapore midfielder Isa Halim sent a long, hopeful ball into Vietnam's half, where Huynh Quang Thanh made a hash of his clearance by heading the ball into his own goal.

Singapore extended their lead in the 24th minute when Fazrul Nawaz got past his marker and slid in a ball across the goal that saw Nguyen Thanh Long Giang put the ball into his own net.

Two own goals from Vietnam and Singapore were cruising.

The game swung in favour of the Vietnamese when Isa, who was shown a yellow card earlier in the game, was given his marching orders for a second bookable offence in the 28th minute.

Despite being a man down, Singapore managed a third goal on the stroke of half-time when Khairul Amri sent a delightful ball into the path of Shahril Ishak, who fired home from the edge of the box.

Vietnam came out in the second half on the front foot and reduced the deficit in the 54th minute when Phan Thanh Binh slotted home a loose ball from close range.

From then on, it was one-way traffic as Vietnam laid siege to Singapore's goal.

Goalkeeper Hassan Sunny had to pull off two point-blank saves to deny Vietnam a way back into the game.

In the dying minutes, Vietnam midfielder Le Tan Tai was shown a straight red card for elbowing Hafiz Osman as both went going for the ball.

The Vietnamese did pull another goal back through a Le Cong Vinh penalty in injury-time.

'We studied Vietnam's game and knew what we had to do,' said Avramovic.

'I wanted the boys to go out there and attack from the start, which they did, and we were rewarded.

SELF-BELIEF

'The performance was good and the result could have been better but we had to change our game plan after the sending off.'

Singapore skipper Baihakki Khaizan believes self-belief was the key for their win over Vietnam.

'We knew we had to raise our game significantly if we were to win this game,' said the 23-year-old.

'I'm glad we went out there and prove to ourselves that we could play well.

'Now, we will keep out feet on the ground and prepare for our next game against Malaysia.'

Singapore's win lifted them to the top of Group B on four points, and they now require just a point against Malaysia - who had beaten Laos 4-0 in the group's other game - on Saturday to secure a place in the semi-finals.

The writer is a freelancer.

SEA GAMES 2007 SINGAPORE: Hassan Sunny, Juma'at Jantan, Shahril Alias (Hafiz Osman 73), Ismail Yunos, Baihakki Khaizan (captain), Isa Halim, Tengku Mushadad (Sevki Sha'ban 68), Ridhuan Muhamad, Fazrul Nawaz, Shahril Ishak, Khairul Amri