Match winner: Nguyen Van Quyet of Ha Noi T&T scored a hat-trick to help his team beat Dong Nai 3-2 in the V-League yesterday. — VNS Photo Tuan Tu

HA NOI  (VNS) — National midfielder Nguyen Van Quyet scored a hat-trick in Ha Noi T&T's 3-2 win over hosts Dong Nai, in a late match in the fourth round of the V-League yesterday.

Quyet punished Dong Nai, who didn't look very determined, with a straight kick just a few seconds into the match.

Midfielder Thiago was careless when he failed to stop Bui Van Hieu to break Dong Nai's loose defence. Hieu passed the ball to Quyet, who made no mistake to make it the opener. His second and third goals also came easily.

Dong Nai played like they were exhausted with no coordination between the players. Quyet and his teammates had the ball all to themselves before T&T were given a free kick in the 27th minute. Quyet gave goalie Nguyen Thanh Diep no chance to save his citadel.

There were too many errors from the hosts, and Coach Tran Binh Su had to make several changes. However, these did not save his team from the third goal in the final minute of the first half.

Quyet not only completed his hat-trick with a perfect header, but also scored a point with the new national coach Toshiya Miura, who is going around the country selecting the best players for the national team. They will be summoned later this month.

The break came at the right time for coach Su, who successfully woke up his players. The hosts did much better in the second half.

After being ‘jobless' in the first 45 minutes, striker Nguyen Hai Anh received more passes from his teammates in the second half.

He converted a corner kick for a goal in the 63rd minute. His powerful header went to the high far corner of former keeper Duong Hong Son, who jumped up but failed to block it.

Son then had to work hard to resist consecutive attacks from the hosts whose forwards needed a little luck to make it to the goal.

Dong Nai's second goal came from a counter-attack in the additional minute. Nguyen Ngoc Anh left all Hanoian defenders behind before getting a low shot into the net.

This was the sixth straight defeat of the hosts against the V-League's leading team in the past three seasons.

This victory strengthens T&T's position, who now has 35 points from 14 matches. Dong Nai remained at the seventh place with 18 points. — VNS