The hosts wasted no time in going upfront, with defender Riku Handa surging up the right flank to force a save from Caique Santos in the first minute.

Santos was in action again seven minutes later when he came out on the right to prevent Jebali from taking a shot after a defensive blunder.

The keeper, however, could only watch helplessly as midfielder Mito picked up Ryoya Yamashita’s pin-point pass outside the six-yard area in the 16th minute and slid the ball beyond his reach.

The V.League 1 outfit had their first stab at goal nine minutes later when South Africa international Percy Tau ran down the right and evaded Gamba defender Genta Miura only to shoot just wide of the left post.

Santos prevented Gamba from going further ahead just before the break when he stretched to tip a stinging shot from Jebali against the bar and then got down to keep out Kanji Okunuki’s low shot from outside the area.

Gamba increased their lead seven minutes into the second half when Yamashita evaded the defence and floated another perfect cross to Jebali, who, with Santos out of position, coolly swept the ball into a gaping goalmouth.

Brenner Oliveira tested Gamba keeper Masaaki Higashiguchi in the 73rd minute when he volleyed from close range following some impressive footwork from Tau on the right, but that proved to be Nam Dinh’s only shot on target.

An unmarked Riku Handa could have put Gamba three up in the 82nd minute when he latched on to a fine pass from Deniz Hummet in the centre of the area, but Santos produced a fine save from his point-blank strike.

Gamba found their goal, however, when Ryotaro Meshino’s shot from the right took a wicked deflection off Amorim and bounced beyond a stranded Santos one minute before the end.

Kyle Hudlin then scored a consolation goal for Nam Dinh four minutes into time added on. The two teams meet again on November 5 at Thien Truong Stadium in Nam Dinh.