HCMC Club is on the verge of being relegated to First Division after suffering a 0-2 away defeat to arch rivals Nam Dinh at the Thien Truong Stadium in V-League’s penultimate round Sunday.

However, Nam Dinh played faster in the second half and their attacks resulted in a brace of goals by midfielder Duc Duong in the 60th and 75th minutes.

Nam Dinh will successfully avoid being relegated if they beat Dong Thap in the final round. If they draw the match, they are likely to have to play a playoff match.

The third from last team in the V-League and the third best from First Division will meet for a play-off match to decide who gets the last berth in V-League next season.

Thanh Hoa, at the bottom with 19 points, has already been relegated. Fourth Military Zone is now one point clear of HCMC Club after beating Hai Phong 2-0 and one point adrift of Nam Dinh.

If Fourth Military Zone and Nam Dinh win next weekend, the former will play a play-off match and HCMC Club will drop to the lower First Division.

Way up in the table, Binh Duong took the second spot from Song Lam Nghe An after beating Hoang Anh Gia Lai 3-1. Song Lam Nghe An drew 1-1 with T&T Hanoi.

While Da Nang won the championship two weeks ago, the race for the second place is still on with Binh Duong and SLNA (both have 40 points) and T&T Hanoi who has 38 points.

V-League’s first and second best teams will compete in the Asian Football Confederation Cup next year.

Reported by Thanh Nien staff