Striker Viet Thang (C) vies for the ball with Thailand’s Nataporn in last night’s first leg final of the 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup at Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium

Fans nationwide were delirious last night after Vietnam posted a dream victory over Thailand in the first leg of the 2008 ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup final at Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium.

Vietnam last defeated Thailand 10 years ago when the two teams encountered in the semifinals of the 1998 AFF Cup, which was then called the Tiger Cup.

Wednesday’s victory gives Vietnam a big advantage when it takes on Thailand in the second leg at Hanoi’s My Dinh Stadium on Sunday.

Before the match kicked off, most football experts predicted Vietnam would have a hard time.

Thailand’s coach Peter Reid praised Vietnam for playing well and advancing to the final, but the Briton was very confident about a good result for Thailand.

Reid’s team had defeated Vietnam in the opening match of the tournament in Phuket early this month.

Vietnam’s coach Hendrique Calisto was also confident after achieving the goal set by Vietnam Football Federation of reaching the semifinals.

The Portuguese man said at the press conference on Tuesday that anyone would want to win, but he wanted his players to do their best.

The experts seemed to be on the right track when Thailand started well and looked to be the stronger team.

With the advantage of home soil and an extra day’s rest over Vietnam, the Thai players started fast and launched a wave of attacks, putting the visitors under constant pressure.

Thailand had its first shot at the goal in the very first minute, but Suksomkit’s drive was kicked away by defender Nhu Thanh.

While Vietnam had a better start than in the previous encounter against the home team, the latter looked to have the edge as the match progressed.

In the first 15 minutes, the Vietnamese goal keeper continued where he left off in the semifinal, saving two on-target headers by Thai players.

After laboring hard to stop the attacks by the host team Thailand for the first 30 minutes or so, the Vietnamese players began to find their feet to launch counter attacks.

They began to display better ball possession, and this proved crucial six minutes before half-time as Phong headed a neat pass from midfielder Tan Tai on the left flank into the far corner of Thailand’s net.

The goal spurred the team to play even more confidently and aggressively.

The joy of the Vietnamese fans at the stadium knew no bounds as their team’s top striker Le Cong Vinh turned in a Viet Thang pass to double the lead just three minutes later.

Vietnam started the second half in high spirits; but Thailand wasn’t giving an inch.

They continued to launch relentless attacks and kept the Vietnamese players confined to their part of the field.

After the attacks failed to breach Vietnam’s defense, Reid threw in striker Ronnachai to replace Winothai in the 73rd minute.

The move paid of immediately with the substitute forward heading a low pass into the net in less than two minutes.

Thailand’s Dangda sent the ball into Vietnam’s net a minute later, but the sideline referee ruled it offside.

The Thai players piled on the pressure to score the equalizer, but the Vietnamese players were game to their task of holding on to their lead.

Vietnam now has high hopes of winning the title for the first time since the tournament was established in 1996.

Fans in Hanoi were already braving the chilly weather to queue up for tickets for the second leg final to be played on Sunday.

Reported by Huu Tho - Quang Tuyen