Binh Duong close to first V-League title

Making their victory over a strong side all the sweeter was the fact that five of the seven V-League teams playing at home on the weekend failed to snatch three points three teams were held to draws while two lost.

Among the losers were Hoa Phat Ha Noi and Ha Noi ACB at home and away, respectively.

Following Saturday”s decisive victory over the northern team, Binh Duong have opened up a 13-point gap at the top of the table the widest in the V-League”s seven-season history.

Playing on their home turf at Go Dau stadium, Binh Duong put Thanh Hoa on the back foot from the outset. However, they only got the breakthrough in the 40th minute thanks to the left foot of defender Pham Minh Duc.

The scoreline at the end of the half could have been bigger, but shots by national Huynh Quang Thanh”s and Truong Giang hit the crossbar and post respectively.

Against the run of play, the guests” equalised 10 minutes into the second half when Binh Duong keeper Nguyen The Anh let Thanh Hoa”s Mai Tien Thanh get too close to the ball, which he promptly dispatched.

The winning goals came from Binh Duong strikers Kesley Alves and Amaobi Uzowuru, who found the back of the net in the 65th and 90th minutes.

Despite the sizeable 13-point gap between Binh Duong and second-placed Da Nang who lost 1-0 at home to Khanh Hoa yesterday the next four teams are all within three points of one another.

Binh Dinh moved up one place to third following their 2-0 win over Ha Noi ACB and now have 25 points, while Thanh Hoa, who dropped a place, are now in fourth on goal difference following their defeat on the weekend.

Defending champions Dong Tam Long An and twice champions Hoang Anh Gia Lai remain in fifth and sixth, on 23 and 22 points respectively, after both drawing 2-2 yesterday.

The next four teams in the table are also separated by just three points.

Dam Phu My Nam Dinh and Khatoco Khanh Hoa both jumped two spots to seventh and eighth place on 21 points, after clinching away victories yesterday. Nam Dinh beat Hoa Phat Ha Noi 2-0, while Khanh Hoa beat central Da Nang at the Chi Lang stadium.

HCM City-based TMN Sai Gon Port and Song Lam Nghe An changed places with Nam Dinh and Khanh Hoa formally in ninth and 10th spot after dropping two places. Sai Gon Port drew 2-2 to Hoang Anh Gia Lai at home to stay a point behind Khanh Hoa, while Nghe An held hosts Huda Hue to a 1-1 draw and are just one point behind Sai Gon Port.

The relegation battle at the bottom of the table is hotting up with Dong Thap who drew 2-2 to Long An away and Ha Noi ACB both on 16 points. One point behind is Hoa Phat Ha Noi, who are four points off bottom-of-the-table Hue.

V-League schedule adjusted

The last eleven rounds of the top-flight football V-League have been rescheduled to allow the national team to attend the third-and-final round of qualifiers for the Beijing Olympic Games.

Because the six group C qualifying games are to be held between August and November, the Viet Nam Football Federation announced that rounds 16-20 of the V-League will now be played before August 12.

Rounds 21-24 will be played weekly as usual, followed by a two-week break before the penultimate 25th round.

In the Olympic qualifiers Viet Nam is scheduled to play Japan on August 22 and October 17, Qatar on September 8 and 12, and Saudi Arabia on November 17 and 21

VNS