Vietnam Petro Gas V-League 2007, Week 18: Binh Duong held while Huda Hue earn crucial points
Leaders Binh Duong were held to a 0-0 draw by their bitter rivals Da Nang while bottom-placed Huda Hue earned a crucial three points after a 2-1 victory…
07/08/2007 00:00:00
Leaders Binh Duong were held to a 0-0 draw by their bitter rivals Da Nang while bottom-placed Huda Hue earned a crucial three points after a 2-1 victory over Hoa Phat Hanoi their direct rivals in their struggle for survival.
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| Binh Duong (blue) failed to take avenge against Da Nang but have moved closer to winning their first league title. (Photo: Vietnamnet). |
Despite the draw, Binh Duong still maintain a 13 point gap over the three chasing teams, including Hoang Anh Gia Lai, Da Nang and Halida Thanh Hoa.
By contrast, Huda Hue are still bottom but they have made up the ground on the relegation pack as they stand only three points away from safety.
V-League, week 18 |
Wednesday, August 5 Binh Duong 0-0 Da Nang Halida Thanh Hoa 2-0 Dong Tam Long An (Rogers Wandwasi 90″; Henry Lamin 90″) ACB.HN 1-1 Phu My Nam Dinh (Benitez Ramon 62″- Harison Muranda 30″) Huda Hue 2-1 Hoa Phat Hanoi (Andrew Opara 22″ and 85″ Jucelio Da Silva 5″) PISICO Binh Dinh 1-1 Southern Steel Saigon Port (Truong Viet Hoang 60″ Enenildo De Jesus 45″) Khatoco Khanh Hoa 1-3 Hoang Anh Gia Lai (Jonathan Quartey 62″ – Agostinho Oliveira 8″, 45″ and 72″) PVFC Song Lam Nghe An 1-1 Dong Thap (Le Cong Vinh 76″- Nguyen Van Nghia 86″) |
Binh Duong started their game with Da Nang without three key players including striker Amaobi, skipper Tran Truong Giang and rightback Huynh Quang Thanh due to suspension.
As a result, Binh Duong failed to show a cutting edge against solid Da Nang, who lined up their strongest squad.
It was Da Nang who created more chances in the match and deserved to leave Binh Duong with more than a point.
Almeida De Emidio, who stands neck-and-neck with Binh Duong”s Amaobi in the list of league top scorers with ten goals, threatened the home side”s defence on several occasions.
Da Nang”s first opportunity saw De Emidio forcing goalkeeper Nguyen The Anh into a flying save to deny his free-kick.
The striker powered two other finishes, which went just wide.
With the draw, Binh Duong failed to avenge their 3-1 defeat to Da Nang in their reverse fixture. However, Binh Duong have moved closer to winning their first league title.
Meanwhile, Da Nang lost second spot in the table to Hoang Anh Gia Lai, who beat Khatoco Khanh Hoa 3-1 with a hat-trick by Agostinho Oliveira.
Hoang Anh Gia Lai are level with Da Nang on points but lead due to their head-to-head result.
In Hue, hosts Huda Hue earned a crucial three points against Hoa Phat Hanoi to continue to keep their hope alive. Huda Hue came from behind to win the match.
Jucelio Da Silva put Hoa Phat Hanoi in front after five minutes. However, Andrew Opara scored a brace to give Huda Hue hope.
Huda Hue, who face a do-or-die situation, started their match against Hoa Phat Hanoi in aggressive fashion.
Hoa Phat Hanoi, who beat Southern Steel Saigon Port in week 17, opted to play a counter attacking game.
They took a lead after five minutes when Thanh Tuan was dispossessed by Nguyen Anh Cuong, who provided a good pass to Da Silva, who gave goalkeeper Duc Hanh no chance.
Opara levelled 16 minutes later. After being fouled, the Nigerian striker took the freekick himself and found the net.
Encouraged by the equaliser, Huda Hue increased their pace and came close on several occasions.
Nguyen Canh Lam forced fully stretched Hoa Phat Hanoi goalie Nguyen Manh Dung into a save while Thanh Tuan hit the crossbar.
After the break, Huda Hue continued to dominate the game but they had to wait until 86thminute to seal a victory.
Nguyen Cuu Phu played a through ball to set up an unmarked Opara, who made no mistakes scoring his second goal.
Hoa Phat Hanoi had almost taken the lead two minutes earlier, when substitute Nguyen Cong Manh”s finish was denied by the leg of goalkeeper Duc Hanh.
The defeat leaves Hoa Phat Hanoi in the relegation zone as Dong Thap earned point from their visit to PVFC Song Lam Nghe An.
| V-League, Week 18 | ||||||||
N0 | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Binh Duong | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 30 | 14 | 41 |
| 2 | Hoang Anh Gia Lai | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 27 | 23 | 28 |
| 3 | Da Nang | 18 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 21 | 12 | 28 |
| 4 | Halida Thanh Hoa | 18 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 18 | 19 | 28 |
| 5 | PISICO Binh Dinh | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 21 | 22 | 26 |
| 6 | Phu My Nam Dinh | 18 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 25 | 19 | 25 |
| 7 | Dong Tam Long An | 18 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 26 | 23 | 24 |
| 8 | PVFC Song Lam Nghe An | 18 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 24 | 23 | 23 |
| 9 | Southern Steel Saigon Port | 18 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 23 | 26 | 21 |
| 10 | Khatoco Khanh Hoa | 18 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 19 | 23 | 21 |
| 11 | ACB.HN | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 17 | 24 | 20 |
| 12 | Dong Thap | 18 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 17 | 21 | 18 |
| 13 | Hoa Phat Hanoi | 18 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 20 | 26 | 18 |
| 14 | Huda Hue | 18 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 14 | 27 | 15 |
-Nhan Dan-
