LookAtVietnam – Megastar Nam Dinh fell to the bottom of the V-League ranking table after losing 0-1 to Khatoco, Khanh Hoa on home turf yesterday, March 21.

Megastar Nam Dinh fell to the bottom of the V-League ranking table after losing 0-1 to Khatoco, Khanh Hoa. (Photo: VNN)

Nam Dinh played with greater strength in the second half but their efforts were not enough to overthrow a formidable Khanh Hoa defence.

The central province team went home with three points, boosting them three steps to sixth place in the rankings.

Nam Dinh’s place at the bottom represented a bad sign for coach Nguyen Ngoc Hao. He could be the second V-League coach to lose his job after Singaporean Robert Lim who lost his position with Ninh Binh earlier this month.

Lam Son Thanh Hoa also demonstrated their strength with an away win over Dong Tam Long An 1-0 in their second consecutive victory. The win helped them escape the relegation zone.

Winning

The former army team now stands 10th in the rankings with seven points. Hoang Dinh Tung scored the only point of the match in a fine follow up to his winning goal last week over Hoang Anh Gia Lai.

The loss was in contrast the second consecutive failure for Dong Tam Long An, the former V-League champions under coach Tran Cong Minh, who was once a national team member.

Long An fell from fifth place to eighth with eight points after six rounds.

At Hang Day stadium yesterday, new coach Le Thuy Hai impressed officials and Ninh Binh club fans with a 2-0 victory in his debut over host Hoa Phat Ha Noi.

Hai, who became the highest paid coach in V-League last week, confirmed to Ninh Binh managers that the salary they paid him was worth it.

Two goals were scored by the visitors in the second half. National team striker Nguyen Viet Thang struck the net 10 minutes after the break and Gustavo Duorado took full advantage of a penalty kick at the 70th minute.

A few minutes later, Hoa Phat tried to narrow the divide but Anjembe Timothy failed to convert a penalty into a goal.

In other matches, board leaders Ha Noi T&T lost 1-2 to Dong Thap yesterday, while Hoang Anh Gia Lai defeated Hai Phong 2-0.

Song Lam Nghe An (SLNA) lost 1-0 to Becamex Binh Duong in a game that saw few chances to score on Saturday.

At Vinh stadium, hosts SLNA and Binh Duong showed their respect for each other by starting the match carefully. Both teams showed a solid defence and there were no real openings to score in the first half.

Six minutes into the second half, Au Van Hoan presented a penalty to their guests with a handball in the box. Huynh Kesley Alves scored for Binh Duong from the spot of the penalty.

After the goal, the match became more interesting with quicker attacks from both sides. SLNA applied pressure on their guests with an aim to levelling the score. In the 57th minute, Hoan missed his chance when he shot wide off the right post. Rajko Viodovic headed over the crossbar twice in the 72nd and 81st minutes.

SHB Da Nang edged Navibank Saigon 1-0 at Chi Lang stadium. The goal was scored by Da Nang’s top scorer Gaston Merlo.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News