Viet Nam News
Football
HA NOI — FLC Thanh Hoa beat Can Tho 4-1 yesterday to top the V.League table again, after it had dropped to the No 2 position for two days.
Playing on away ground, Thanh Hoa met with a lot of difficulties in the first quarter under heavy pressure from the hosts.
However, they found the opener in the 27th minute after a rapid counter-attack.
Midfielder Nguyen Trong Hoang, who was selected in the ASEAN Football Federation’s best 11 team for 2017, hit a straight shot which grazed a Can Tho player before entering the net.
The visitors made it 2-0 when Le Van Thang broke through the hosts’ defence, before sending the ball to Iheruome Uche in the box. He headed it to the high far corner of goalie Buu Ngoc.
Can Tho narrowed the score near the end of the first half, when Nsi Amougou Christian Jose passed five Thanh Hoa players, before beating keeper Tien Dung for a goal.
Can Tho rearranged their team and attacked aggressively in the second half, but their forwards could not make any foray into Thanh Hoa’s defence again.
The visitors easily found their third goal at the 75th mark through Huu Dung, whose hit from out of the penalty area was too hard for former national keeper Ngoc to save.
Hoang then assisted Thang to make his double in this match with a close tap-in during injury time.
Thanh Hoa are now on top of the tournament with 36 points, two more than Quang Nam, who had jumped to the No 1 position last Friday.
Can Tho, who had 17 points after 19 rounds, have not yet secured their V.League spot for the next season.
At Thong Nhat Stadium, Hoang Anh Gia Lai suffered a tragic 0-1 loss to HCM City FC in the additional time, when their goalkeeper To Vinh Loi received a red card.
Loi fouled Da Sylva out of his area and was sent off during the dying minutes of the match.
Da Sylva then made the free kick himself and scored the only goal of the match.
Earlier, Hoang Anh Gia Lai travelled to HCM City without midfielder Nguyen Tuan Anh, who was out with injury.
Missing the "bridge", their strikers Nguyen Cong Phuong and Nguyen Van Toan were left "hungry" at the front line.
The hosts did not give them any chance to get close to their net.
On the home side, HCM City also tried hard but could not attack Hoang Anh Gia Lai’s defence in the 90 minutes.
With both two teams headed towards a draw, Loi made a mistake few seconds before the close.
However, it was enough for the hosts to clinch a win.
Long An took the lead in their game against Sanna Khanh Hoa but failed to secure their second win in a row.
Wander Luiz Queiroz Dias and Nguyen Thanh Trung pushed their team ahead in the first half within seven minutes from 30th to 37th minutes.
Khanh Hoa’s Tran Van Vu narrowed the score before the interval, while Toure Youssouf made the equaliser in the 80th minute.
Long An is languishing at the bottom of the league with only nine points, while Khanh Hoa were placed at the No 5 spot with 30 points.
Sai Gon, who drew Ha Noi FC 2-2 in the latest match yesterday, stood at the third position with 32 points, while Ha Noi with the same points are at the fourth spot. — VNS