Binh Dinh players celebrate during a 5-3 away victory against An Giang in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang

Tay Ninh failed to hold on to the lead offered by a 55th-minute goal in its match against Quang Nam at home Saturday and lost the top spot in Vietnam’s second-flight First Division after round seven.

Binh Dinh from the central region grabbed the top place after hammering An Giang 5-3 in an away match.

An Giang scored the opener after just 10 minutes, but thereafter, the match was fully controlled by the visitors. The players from the land of martial arts scored five goals before An Giang hit back with a brace in the final minutes of the match.

The win earned Binh Dinh the top spot, pushing Tay Ninh and Ninh Binh to second and third places.

Meanwhile, the two big teams from the capital city, Hanoi ACB and Hoa Phat Hanoi, won their matches.

Hoa Phat Hanoi took a 1-0 away win against Huda Hue city at the Tu Do Stadium while home team Hanoi ACB played exceptionally in the final eight minutes to come from a goal behind to defeat Tien Giang 2-1 at Hang Day Stadium.

At the Quang Ngai Stadium in the central region, home team Quang Ngai and Can Tho from the Mekong Delta fought to a 1-1 draw. Can Tho scored the opener from a 61st minute penalty kick by Williams Santos but the host grabbed a point with a Peter Aisekhame strike 11 minutes from time.

In HCMC, Saigon United was held 0-0 at Thong Nhat Stadium by Ninh Binh from the north and in the north, Quang Ninh beat Dong Nai 1-0 at the Cam Pha Stadium.

The seventh round of the First Division also saw five red cards issued and five penalty kicks awarded.

Reported by Thanh Nien staff