KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia clinched third place in the inaugural FIFA Asean Cup after edging Vietnam 1-0 in a fiercely contested match at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta today.

The match-winner arrived in the 62nd minute through second-half substitute Fergus Tierney, who produced a moment of magic at the top of the penalty box, spinning sharply past his marker before rifling an unstoppable strike beyond Vietnamese goalkeeper Patrik Le Giang.

Vietnam poured forward in search of an equaliser and were convinced they had won a lifeline in the 73rd minute when Malaysia's Harith Haiqal went into a lunging challenge on substitute Le Van Do inside the area, but VAR showed no penalty.

Tan Cheng Hoe's men completed the tournament with an unblemished defensive record of four consecutive clean sheets while winning an estimated prize money of between US$225,000 and US$255,000 (RM945,000 and RM1.07 million).