Malaysia's men football team sealed a 2-1 comeback win against 10-man Thailand in their opening Group B match at the 2021 SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.

In a rematch of the 2017 SEA Games final, Brad Maloney's side, who were one of the three teams without any overage players in Hanoi, fell behind in the 33rd minute despite starting positively against the Thai side.

Swedish-born Thailand striker Patrik Gustavsson put the 16-time winners 1-0 ahead with tricky footwork to bamboozle Malaysia's defence before slotting the ball past goalkeeper Azri Ghani.

Just when the young War Elephants looked to head into half-time comfortably, a fast break from Malaysia in the 42nd minute saw Jonathan Khemdee being sent off for a last-man challenge on Syahir Bashah.

Although Malaysia could not muster an equaliser before the half-time, with an extra man advantage, they managed to do so on the hour mark through Danial Asri.

The match looked set to finish in a draw when Hadi Fayyadh headed Quentin Cheng's excellent cross over the bar in the 82nd minute, but the Azul Claro Numazu striker made amends in injury time.

Hadi forced Kawin Thamsatchanan into a point-blank save that fell to Azfar Fikri, who dummied the Thai goalkeeper before putting the ball into the back of the net.

With Singapore and Laos, whom Malaysia face next on Wednesday, settling a 2-2 draw in an earlier group match, the victory sent Malaysia to the top of Group B.