SHB Da Nang win V-League title

Firm favourites to win the national tourney, SHB Da Nang win their first V-League title in 17 years.

SHB Da Nang fans left the stadium with joy when their team easily beat Mikado Nam Dinh 2-1 in the 23rd round of the nation’s premier V-League yesterday, August 2, to secure the season title with 49 points, three rounds earlier than expected. 

Easy win: Da Nang team-members cheer after beating Nam Dinh 2-0 to win the V-League yesterday, three rounds earlier than expected.

Under the leadership of coach Le Huynh Duc, who was a farmer national team, member and three-times winner of the Golden Ball award for Best Player of the Year, SHB Da Nang earned their first title after 17 years of waiting.

SHB Da Nang’s crown was predicted earlier in the season based on the team’s skills, tactics and physical strength.

In the past three years SHB Da Nang had been unable to beat Nam Dinh, but yesterday they did on home turf.

The host faced few difficulties controlling the match against Nam Dinh, who are nearly at the bottom of the ranking table. With home turf advantage and strong force, Da Nang pushed the visitor during the first half.

In the 18th minute, Nam Dinh’s goalkeeper Quang Huy was unable to catch the ball, leaving Merlo Gaston free to open the score.

It seemed as if Chi Lang Stadium exploded with excitement when Da Nang fans sensed that their team would be crowned that very day.

With the early goal, Duc’s players attacked more and more effectively. All of Nam Dinh’s efforts to level the score proved useless when Molina doubled the host’s score in the 72nd minute.

While Da Nang held a victory party in Chi Lang Stadium, Becamex Binh Duong lost to T&T Ha Noi 3-2 at Hang Day Stadium after a series of defensive errors in the first half.

Binh Duong showed some strength over Ha Noi in the first minute of the match but in the end all the efforts by defenders and strikers proved to be nothing when put up against the sharp Ha Noi attackers.

Binh Duong played better in the second half but coach Mai Duc Chung’s team still lost 2-3 in the end.

T&T Ha Noi ranked second in the standings with 37 points after this win.

At Nha Trang Stadium, host Khanh Hoa broke open the score against Hai Phong with a strike by Felix in the 16th minute.

After the break, both teams had many opportunities to score but were unable to capitalise.

In Pleiku, a match between two-time champion Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) and The Cong ended in a 1-1 draw.

In other games yesterday, Thanh Hoa lost to Military Zone 4 1-2 at home. Song Lam Nghe An defeated Dong Thap 1-0 at Vinh Stadium.

On Saturday, HCMCity beat Dong Tam Long An 2-0. 
 

VFF/VNS