Top of the table: Becamex Binh Duong beat Dong Nai 2-1 in the Toyota V. League 1 yesterday. — Zing.vn

HA NOI (VNS) — Becamex Binh Duong beat Dong Nai 2-1 at Go Dau Stadium in the Toyota V. League 1's 22nd round to take the lead at the tournament yesterday.

Binh Duong have 45 points to top the rankings after 22 rounds. Thanh Hoa stand second with 43 points, and Khanh Hoa are third with 39 points.

Binh Duong dominated the match in the first half. Midfielder Nguyen Trong Hoang, who has recovered from injury, scored two goals for the hosts Binh Duong in the 22nd and 25th minute.

However, Dong Nai's Kisekka Henry narrowed the gap to 2-1 in the 67th minute.

In other news, Ha Noi T&T bested Hai Phong 2-1. Khanh Hoa defeated Da Nang 2-1.

On Saturday, Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) came from behind to beat Song Lam Nghe An (SLNA) 3-1 on their home turf, Pleiku Stadium.

This win helped HAGL to continue nurturing the hope of staying in the national premier league after many losses as a result of which the team was staring at a risk of being relegated to the lower football event.

With the support of fans on their hometurf, HAGL played in attack mode since the first minutes of the match to seek three points but failed to score any goals in the first half.

After the break, goalkeeper Nguyen Minh Nhut of HAGL made an error with striker Abdul Haruna of SLNA in the penalty area, and SLNA overwhelmed their rivals with the penalty goal shot by defender Que Ngoc Hai in the 59th minute.

Several minutes later, Hai made a mistake in the penalty area of his hometurf, helping hosts HAGL enjoy a 11m penalty. With a decisive shoot, striker Nguyen Cong Phuong levelled the score 1-1 for HAGL in the 66th minute.

The mountainous football team HAGL scored more goals in a row in the 77th and 78th minutes, thanks to Le Hoang Thien and Vu Van Thanh.

This victory marked a good start for the newly appointed coach, Nguyen Quoc Tuan, who had chosen to replace French coach Guillaume Graechen after losing 13 matches.

"With this win, I want to thank the club president, Doan Nguyen Duc, who reposed belief in me. This win is also a driving force for my players to play well in the remaining matches. I hope the team will maintain the top-flight in the V.League," said Tuan.

At present, both HAGL and Dong Nai are at the bottom with 17 points each. In other matches on Saturday, Can Tho beat Dong Tam Long An 2-1, and Thanh Hoa crushed Dong Thap 1-0. — VNS