In the wake of an impressive 2-1, first leg, semifinal win over the Philippines in Bacolod it’s advantage Vietnam heading into the return fixture next week according to midfielder Phan Van Duc.

Goals in either half from Nguyen Anh Duc and man-of-the-match Van Duc helped ease the visitors to a win on the road in front of a noisy crowd at the Panaad Stadium.

Despite having conceded for the first time at the tournament, the 22-year-old feels that Vietnam turned in their best performance to date.

“We are satisfied with the performance and I think it’s right to say that this is the best that we’ve played at the AFF Suzuki Cup to date.

“I feel very satisfied with both the result and the performance because I think our team played very well.”

“One aspect that was a real positive was the great spirit across the squad but we also made sure to follow the tactical advice and instructions from our coaching staff and that led to this positive result.”

With two away goals in their keeping Vietnam will head back to Hanoi for next week’s second leg in a buoyant mood but Van Duc cautioned that although the Golden Stars are in a strong position they can’t afford to be complacent in front of what’s expected to be a sold-out My Dinh Stadium.

“We have the advantage for the second leg after having scored two away goals in this match but we need to make sure that we can achieve another positive result in Hanoi in front of our home supporters and for all Vietnamese people.”