Viet Nam News
Football
HA NOI — Ha Noi FC failed to regain their top place after their draw match, while Long An suffered their 10th defeat in a row yesterday in V.League action.
Ha Noi was tied 1-1 in a match where they visited Sanna Khanh Hoa in Nha Trang City.
Despite the visiting side, Ha Noi scored the first goal in the 68th minute after both sides spent the first half testing each other.
Midfielder Alvaro Linares Silva received the ball and his strong header easily found the net.
The Hanoian team continued dominating the match, but failed to double the result.
They did suffered a goal in the next-to-last minute.
Nguyen Tan Dien had a close-range shoot-out when the ball touched a defender from the Ha Noi side and changed its direction to enter the net.
The draw result pushes Ha Noi into second place with 20 points in the ranking, behind FLC Thanh Hoa (22), who earned a controversial win of 3-2 over Hoang Anh Gia Lai, and Hai Phong (21), who beat Can Tho 3-1 on Saturday.
The match between two former champions, SHB Da Nang and Becamex Binh Duong, also ended with a 1-1 result.
Nguyen Thanh Hai opened the score for the hosts Da Nang at the 78th mark, while Nguyen Anh Duc netted an equaliser six minutes later. It was Duc’s sixth goal of the tournament, making him one of three best scorers after 12 rounds.
Long An is close to reaching the First Division after their 1-2 loss to Quang Ninh Coal yesterday.
All goals were made in the first half, with Long An surprisingly pocketing the first goal by Vu Em just 17 minutes into the game.
However, it was all that they could do before allowing two goals by the visiting side.
Tambwe Patiyo leveled with a tap-in, converting a smart pass from the left wing to the net.
Midfielder Xuan Tu then made a straight shot. Long An’s defender Thanh Cuong, in an attempt to stop the ball, scored a goal in the last second of the first half, with the final score of the match.
New coach Nguyen Minh Phuong had tried his best, but under his reign Long An lost six matches.
They have only four points and have become a top candidate for a relegation slot this season.
Quang Ninh, on the other hand, jumped from No 8 to No 5 with 19 points. — VNS