LookAtVietnam – Evaldo Goncalves scored the only goal for Hoang Anh Gia Lai to beat Dong Tam Long An 1-0 in the final-eight round of the National Cup yesterday in Pleiku.

Evaldo Goncalves scored the only goal for Hoang Anh Gia Lai to beat Dong Tam Long An 1-0. (Photo: VNN)

They put a lot of pressure on Long An.

Goncalves was put in the field in the second half and he became a hero with his goal at the 71st minute, derailing Long An in their journey to land their first National Cup title.

Meanwhile, last Saturday, Ha Noi ACB also came from behind to beat Hoa Phat Ha Noi 2-1 to enter the quarter-finals.

The Ha Noi derby was uncharacteristically aggressive for these two teams, with the opening goal scored just three minutes after the whistle.

Haftback Thanh Trung made a perfect corner kick from the right wing which came to Pape Djibril’s head in the box. Djibril met no difficulty to beat goalie Minh Phong of ACB.

But ACB needed only six minutes to level the score after a rapid fire by Gajic Goran.

The result of the match was decided at the 37th minute.

Alexandre Campos stole the ball and led it into the penalty area without any obstacles from Hoa Phat defenders who still were scrambling over their squads loss of control. Campos produced a stormy shot past keeper Xuan Dieu.

Hoa Phat nearly drew the result again in the last minute of the first half, but Djibril’s shot touched the bar and went out.

In addition to the loss of the match, Hoa Phat also lost Djibril, who was serious injured and will not be able to play in the third V- League round this Saturday.

“I am satisfied and very happy with the first win of the team this season,” said ACB coach Nguyen Thanh Vinh. “I also praise my players’ spirit. They showed off their determination through the entire 90 minutes. We played our best game.”

He added that the victory was even sweeter because it was attained without some of their best players.

In other matches, T&T Ha Noi levelled Military Zone 4 3-3 in the first 90 minutes but lost 2-4 on the penalty shootout. Song Lam Nghe An took one ticket to the quarter-finals by beating Nam Dinh 1-0.

Defending champion Becamex Binh Duong trounced First Division’s Can Tho 3-1, while Da Nang defeated Dong Thap 2-1 and The Cong had a 1-0 victory over Quang Nam.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News