Da Nang, who won the V-League title, were eager to earn the National Cup while The Cong who lost a lot of physical strength after beating Da Nang 4-3 in the last round of the V-League last week, were also determined to lift the Cup in Hanoi.

Both sides started the game carefully and produced some real chances to score in the first half. In the 11th minute Thach Bao Khanh’shot was hit the post before he failed to score in the 30th minute.Da Nang’s Van Meo also missed the chance to open the scoring in the 31st minute.

After the break, both managers Thuy Hai and Huynh Duc made changes. Da Nang dominated the game, bringing pressure to bear on The Cong while The Cong played solidly in their defence, waiting for a chance to counter-attack.

Da Nang intensified their attacks, creating several real chances to score and their efforts paid off. In the 76th minute, Gaston Merlo gave Da Nang the lead when he sent the ball into the net from a close range.

After the goal, Da Nang played slowly and The Cong tried their best to equalise but could not breach Da Nang’s strong and well-organised defence.

In a quik counter-attack in the 89th minute, Khanh Lam missed a great chance to level the score for The Cong when his powerful shot hit the crossbar.

Beating The Cong 1-0 in the final, Da Nang got the National Cup and VND 250 million while The Cong got the silver medal with VND125 million.

With talanted manager Huynh Duc, good foreign and domestic players, Da Nang deserved two titles this year.

VietNamNet/Nhan Dan