13th round of V-League: Haiphong top the table while Hoa Phat Hanoi hit the bottom

The first stage of V-League has ended with Haiphong topping the table despite their 3-2 loss to Binh Dinh. Meanwhile, Hoa Phat Hanoi drew with Thanh Hoa 0-0, and faced the risk of relegation. 

Song Lam Nghe An (yellow) drew 2-2 with The Cong.

Hoa Phat Hanoi placed all their hopes on yesterday’s home match as Thanh Hoa were only four points ahead. In return, Thanh Hoa were also aware of the must need to win to improve their ranking.

The match saw few good attacks as both teams tried to a clean sheet. Dinh Tung missed a very good opportunity to put Thanh Hoa ahead. He went past both a defender and goal Hoa Phat Hanoi goal keeper but failed to score.

Hoa Phat Hanoi saw several changes in the line-up however they had to share one point with the guests.

The draw dragged Hoa Phat Hanoi into relegation zone.

In Long An, Dong Tam Long An failed to give their Portuguese coach Henrique Calisto a full farewell gift after drawing with Hanoi ACB 1-1.

It was Dong Tam Long An’s goodbye match under Calisto, who has been appointed as the new coach of the Vietnamese national team.

It had been thought that Dong Tam Long An was going to bring home a victory for Calisto. Nevertheless, the home team spurned a lot of scoring chances, but after half-time, Antonio Carlos finally scored in the 56th minute. Six minutes later Hanoi ACB’s Josep Lebo Ngake equalised the score.

For the rest of the match, goalkeeper Duc Thang become the hero of Hanoi ACB, stopping all threats from the hosts to secure one more precious point for his team.

The 13th round also saw a 2-2 draw between Song Lam Nghe An and The Cong, however the matched ended chaos. It took an hour for the security forces to escort The Cong players out of Song Lam Nghe An stadium.

In Ho Chi Minh City, Southern Steel Saigon Port beat Khanh Hoa 2-1, marking their 6th win of the season.

* Impressive home wins went to Hoang Anh Gia Lai and Binh Duong in the two last matches of V-League’s first stage on April 15. 

Agostinho contributed one goal to Hoang Anh Gia Lai’s 3-0 victory

In Pleiku, Hoang Anh Gia Lai completed a 3-0 convincing win over Nam Dinh . No goal was scored in the first half, however Hoang Anh Gia Lai sped up a good pace in the later half.

Three goals by Tang Tuan, Agostinho and Van Thuan in the 54th, 56th and 77th minutes helped Hoang Anh Gia Lai rise to third place.

In other match, Binh Duong also affirmed the strength as defending champions. The hosts claimed an easy victory in the first half with two goals by Anh Duc and Philani (19′ and 26′). 

The win was encouraging for Binh Duong as they defend their championship title.