LookAtVietnam – Da Nang proved their strength by securing the to spot in the first half of the V-League’s season after beating The Cong 1-0 yesterday on their home turf, Chi Lang Stadium.

The Cong (Red) also had their chances, but their forwards were unable to score and let three key opportunities go to waste. (Photo: VNN)

Newcomer Military Zone 4 were the surprise winner against Khatoco Khanh Hoa, beating the team 4-2 at Military Zone’s home stadium. The two teams leaped upwards in the rankings from fifth and sixth position to second and third, respectively.

Da Nang’s Merlo Gaston scored the only goal of the match at the 78th minute after a number of chances were wasted by both sides. The foreign striker headed in a ball off of a free kick in the box to beat The Cong’s goalkeeper Nguyen Manh Dung, who had previously thwarted Gaston’s many goal attempts.

The Cong also had their chances, but their forwards were unable to score and let three key opportunities go to waste.

It was the second game for The Cong under the leadership of coach Le Thuy Hai, who replaced Vuong Tien Dung on the hot seat to rescue the club, which had been freefalling on the ranking table. The team seemed to the showing signs of improvement already, yet it was not enough to beat Da Nang. The Cong are now at spot number 10 with 14 points.

At Military Zone 4 stadium, Khanh Hoa twice scored against their host with goals by Manuwa Adeolu Simon at the 21st and 45th minutes, but failed to maintain their advantage in the second half. Lazaro narrowed the score gap with a straight shot. After a short break, Military Zone 4 became more cohesive and pummelled their opponents with three goals by Lazaro, Moses and Nguyen Anh Thang.

At the same time, Hoang Anh Gia Lai made their home fans crazy with a torrent of goals into Thanh Hoa’s net. Thai player Dasakorn Thonglao opened up scoring with a 25m shot 20 minutes in. His second goal was scored at the 89th minute. Evaldo Goncalves made the score 2-0 in the 24th; A Huynh raised it to 3-0 at the last second of the first half. Lee Nguyen, who has the most lucrative contract of the team, scored the last goal.

Thanh Hoa gave agreat effort to resist against their host attempt on goal and redeemed themselves by scoring twice, but it was not enough to save them from a humiliating loss. The victory helped put Hoang Anh Gia Lai back in the race to conquer the V-League title.

At Ha Noi’s Hang Day Stadium, Hai Phong Cement enjoyed the sweetness with a 1-0 win over T&T Ha Noi. It was the second win of the team under coach Tien Dung, who was hired to manage the team after being fired from The Cong.

In other matches, host Nam Dinh were tied in a goalless match against Dong Thap at Thien Truong Stadium; Dong Tam Long An and Song Lam Nghe An also shared one point each after a 2-2 draw at Long An field.

The early match of the tournament last Friday between defending champion and HCM City was postponed when the light system of the stadium was struck by lightning and efforts to repair the damage failed.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News