Twenty-six goals in seven matches brought palpable excitement to the VLeague’s 11th round Sunday as wealthy clubs Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) and Dong Tam Long An (DTLA) staged a strong comeback.

The Brazilian striker scored the opener for the home team two minutes into the match when he headed a long pass from goalkeeper Phan Van Santos to striker Viet Thang who returned the ball to him. Carlos wasted no time in blasting the ball into the net.

He doubled the score less than three minutes later for the 2005-06 champions after turning in a pass from Hoang Thuong from the right flank.

The visitors tried hard and Ngoc Thanh pulled one goal back; but Carlos found the net again in the 55th and 66th minute.

HAGL took a 5-1 away win over Nam Dinh at the Thien Truong Stadium. Despite not scoring a goal, Vietnamese American Lee Nguyen played a major role in all the five goals scored by the Central Highlands club.

After conceding a goal by Hoang Danh Ngoc of the home team in the first half, the 2003-04 champions switched gears in the second half to play some exceptional football.

DTLA and HAGL have climbed one and two places to fifth and seventh respectively while Hai Phong and Nam Dinh each dropped one place to ninth and 13th.

Central club Khatoco Khanh Hoa remained in second place with a 3-2 away win over T&T Hanoi at Hang Day Stadium; and the capital club languished at 10th place after the loss.

Newly promoted Fourth Military Zone and Dong Thap grabbed 3-0 and 1-0 home wins over The Cong and HCMC Club to climb one place to third and fourth respectively.

The Cong fell one place to the bottom but HCMC Club jumped up two places from the bottom despite the loss.

Defending champions Binh Duong climbed one place to sixth with a 3-1 home victory over Thanh Hoa, who remained at 11th place.

V-League leader Da Nang stayed on top despite a 1-1 home draw with Song Lam Nghe An, who fell five places to eighth.

Reported by Thanh Nien staff