2008 champions Vietnam were held to a 2-2 draw by Indonesia in their opening match of the AFF Suzuki Cup despite dominating possession and having the better chances in front of their home fans in Hanoi.
The co-hosts seemed destined for victory until substitute forward Samsul Arif came off the bench to level things up for Merah Putih with an 85th minute goal.
Earlier, a 68th minute wonder strike from outside the box by another substitute Le Cong Vinh had given Vietnam a 2-1 lead. The 26-year-old forward had been injected into the game only 13 minutes earlier.
It was an entertaining Group A encounter between two nations who many expect to advance to next month's semifinals.
Vietnam began the game brightly, cheered on by a near capacity crowd at the My Dinh Stadium.
They created immediate pressure as they broke quickly down the flank. Thanh Hien Nguyen tested Indonesia goalkeeper Kurnia Hermansyah with a stinging shot in the first 10 minutes.
But it was a defensive mix-up from Indonesia that created the opening goal. After a corner, a defensive header from striker Sergio Van Dijk was latched upon by defender Ngoc Hai Que to give Vietnam an 11th minute lead.
But Indonesia equalised just after the half hour after an equally poor piece of defending gave Zulham Zamrun his opportunity. His left foot shot beat Nguyen Manh Tran to make it 1-1 at the break.
Vietnam went close to doubling their lead in the 50th minute when Thanh Hien Nguyen hit the post.
The go-ahead goal by the co-host nation was well deserved and came, after another period of pressure, from Le Cong Vinh, who'd come on as a substitute for Thanh Hien Nguyen.
But Alfred Riedl's team had the last laugh when Samsul took advantage of more lax defending to grab a share of the spoils five minutes from time.
Both nations are second in Group A after Philippines' 4-1 victory over Laos in the earlier game in Hanoi.