Viet Nam News
HA NOI — Quang Ninh Coal defeated SHB Da Nang 1-0 in the first round of the Nuti Cafe V.League 1 at Cam Pha Stadium yesterday.
Taking full advantage of playing at home, Quang Ninh scored the opener in the 18th minute through Brazilian striker Teofilo Eydison.
Eydison’s goal drove the home side on but they couldn’t best goalkeeper Nguyen Thanh Binh again.
In the second half, the visitors flooded forward to attempt to level the score.
However, they nearly fell behind further in the 54th minute when Binh fouled Marcus Vinicius of Quang Ninh in the penalty area. Fortunately for the visitors striker Mac Hong Quan failed to score from the spot.
In the 79th minute, Da Nang were presented a glorious opportunity to equalise when goalkeeper Huynh Tuan Linh of the hosts fouled national U23 striker Ha Duc Chinh in the box.
Brazilian Do Merlo stepped up to take the spot kick for Da Nang but failed to level the scores.
The hosts controlled the remainder of the game, taking away all three points.
In other matches yesterday, Ha Noi FC beat Hai Phong 1-0, while Nam Dinh tied with Can Tho 0-0.
On Saturday, defending champions Quang Nam FC drew with Sai Gon FC 1-1 at Tam Ky Stadium.
Although Quang Nam controlled the first half, they didn’t create many dangerous attacks on Sai Gon’s box.
After the break, the two sides pushed forward to seek goals. In the 47th minute, Ha Minh Tuan headed the ball into the Sai Gon net to open the scoring.
In the 62nd minute, following a defensive mix-up, Le Hoang Thien levelled the score for the visitors.
At Pleiku Stadium, Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) played out a goalless draw with former champions Becamex Binh Duong.
The event drew much attention of fans and media in the country, with HAGL heavily tipped for the title this season.
The stadium was full of fans who wanted to see HAGL’s midfielder and captain Luong Xuan Truong after two years of playing in South Korea on loan and other stars such as Nguyen Cong Phuong, Nguyen Van Toan, Vu Van Thanh and Nguyen Phong Hong Duy who played for the national U23 team during their run to the final of the AFC U23 Championship in China in January.
However, Binh Duong, who are in the process of bringing new blood into their team, gave the hosts plenty of trouble but failed to score. — VNS