Hong Kong twice hit the wood work in the opening 45 minutes, with Matt Orr going closest to breaking the drought midway through the first half, as Andersen’s side put on an encouraging display against an opposition playing their first game under new coach Philippe Troussier.

Chinese Super League-based defenders Vas Nunez and Yue Tze-nam were named among the Hong Kong substitutes having both complained of hamstring issues after arriving in Vietnam, and Andersen handed a start to Leung Nok-hang alongside Helio Goncalves.

A party atmosphere greeted the opening whistle as the home fans celebrated a rare visit to the country’s third largest city by the national team and, buoyed by that euphoria, the Golden Stars started positively.

Hong Kong, however, held firm and were unfortunate not to take the lead. Helio narrowly missed making contact with Tan Chun-lok’s sixth minute corner from the right and, as the midway point in the half approached, Orr went closer still.

The Guangxi Pingguo Haliao striker, in a rich run of form in China League One where he has scored seven times in his past six games, found himself one-on-one with Vietnam’s Dang Van Lam, but the goalkeeper denied Orr his first international goal in more than a year with his huge frame.

Orr’s confidence remained undimmed and the former Kitchee man threatened again in the 29th minute. The Hong Kong midfield pressed the Vietnamese inside their own half, forcing a mistake that resulted in Orr being released behind the defence.

The 26-year-old did well to work the ball onto his left foot before hitting a shot that arced over Van Lam only to thump back off the crossbar.

In a cruel blow the home side took the lead three minutes later. Nguyen Quang Hai went down in the area and Malaysian referee Suhaizi bin Shukri pointed to the spot, enraging Helio in the process. Captain Ngoc Hai calmly slotted his penalty down the middle.

Hong Kong were undeterred and Sun Ming-him clipped the frame of the goal with a free-kick seven minutes from half-time as the visitors continued to show plenty to encourage Andersen at the interval.

The customary rash of substitutions contributed to a disjointed second half for both sides, with Wong Tsz-ho going closest for Hong Kong in the 62nd minute when he stormed forward only to hit a shot that Van Lam dropped to his right to save.

Goalkeeper Tse Ka-wing was on hand to stop the Vietnamese from increasing their advantage on several occasions after the interval, making a spectacular stop with three minutes remaining when he tipped Pham Xuan Manh’s shot from distance over the bar.

Tse paid a heavy price for that save, picking up a knock that saw him replaced by veteran Yapp Hung-fai for the dying seconds as Vietnam held on for the win.

Vietnam 1 Hong Kong 0

Scorers: Vietnam (Que Noc Hai 32 pen)

Vietnam (3-4-2-1): Dang Van Lam; Nguyen Thanh Binh (Sub: Phan Tuan Tai, 46 mins), Do Duy Man, Que Ngoc Hai; Ho Tan Tai (Sub: Truong Tien Anh, 36), Nguyen Tuan Anh (Sub: Pham Xuan Manh, 65), Nguyen Hoang Duc (Sub: Nguyen Hai Huy, 46), Doan Van Hau (Sub: Khuat Van Kang, 76); Nguyen Quang Hai, Pham Tuan Hai; Nguyen Van Tung (Sub: Pham Tuan Hai, 46). Bookings: None

Hong Kong (4-1-4-1): Tse Ka-wing (Sub: Yapp Hung-fai, 87); Tsui Wang-kit, Helio Goncalves, Leung Nok-hang, Wong Tsz-ho; Huang Yang; Law Tsz-chun (Sub: Awal Mahama, 81), Tan Chun-lok (Sub: Philip Chan Siu-wan, 81), Wong Wai (Sub: Ju Yingzhi, 68), Sun Ming-him (Sub: Poon Pui-hin, 68); Matt Orr (Sub: Wu Chun-ming, 68). Bookings: None