Man of the match: Le Cong Vinh scored a goal to help Binh Duong beat Can Tho 3-1 in the sixth round in the southern province's Can Tho Stadium yesterday. — Photo dantri.com.vn

HA NOI (VNS) — Playing in this year's Toyota V. League 1 for the first time, striker Le Cong Vinh scored a goal that helped Binh Duong defeat Can Tho 3-1 in the sixth round of the tournament in the southern province's Can Tho Stadium yesterday.

With the support of fans, host Can Tho began its attack right from the first minute of the match. However, the visiting team opened the scoring in the 30th minute, thanks to the skills of Cheikh Abass Dieng.

Three minutes later, Oseni Ganiyu Bolaji scored the second goal for Binh Duong.

The match became more interesting as the hosts continued to launch attacks to even the score, but failed.

In the 86th minute, after receiving a pass from Oseni, three-time Golden Ball winner Vinh headed the ball past goalkeeper Bui The Anh to raise the score to 3-0.

It was during the last minutes of the match that Nguyen Van Quy narrowed the gap for Can Tho to 3-1.

Among other matches of the V. League 1 played yesterday, Song Lam Nghe An crushed Thanh Hoa 4-0 at Vinh Stadium; SHB Da Nang bested Hai Phong 2-0 at Chi Lang Stadium; and Sanna Khanh Hoa tied goalless with Dong Tam Long An.

In related news, Ha Noi T&T defeated Dong Nai 2-0 at Hang Day Stadium in an early match of the sixth round of the tournament on Saturday.

Both sides started the game at a slow pace, as it was a cold, rainy day. However, the hosts launched an uninterrupted attack several minutes into the game to score a goal.

Coach Phan Thanh Hung of Ha Noi T&T used his two strongest strikers, Hoang Vu Olaleye Samson and Damian Marronkle Gonzalo, in this match with the hope of earning three points. However, both Gonzalo and Samson failed to score, even though they had a few chances.

After the break, Samson received a red card due to an error he made with Dong Nai's Huynh Phu.

Despite lacking a striker, the hosts played determinedly, and Nguyen Van Quyet scored two goals to finish the match.

In other matches played on Saturday, Dong Thap beat Quang Nam 3-0, and national favourites Hoang Anh Gia Lai lost to dark horse Quang Ninh Coal 1-2. — VNS