Viettel da nang

Da Nang will be Hung’s third stop this season. He left Than Quang Ninh earlier this year after the club had failed to pay players their outstanding salaries. Later, he moved to Becamex Binh Duong, whom he parted with in April citing health reasons, while in actual fact he was unhappy with the board interfering with his work.

Hung was set to coach Da Nang after the first leg of the season. However, the club were forced to execute the plan earlier after losing 1-2 to Viettel on Sunday, which pushed them out of the top six teams.

In the second leg of V. League this year, the top six teams of the first leg will compete for the title in table A, while the last eight battle to avoid relegation in table B.

Da Nang started V. League 2021 with three impressive wins. However, in the next nine games, they could only score seven points, falling to ninth. Last week, coach Duc said players have refused to follow his instruction. On Sunday, he resigned from the head coach position since he no longer felt motivated.

“Maybe I have been at Da Nang for too long (12 years), which caused my motivation to drop. The club need a change, so do I. When I was still at coaching school, the mentors told me that I should only coach a club for three years. But Da Nang hold a special place in my heart, so I decided to stay longer than expected,” said Duc, who was a star striker of Vietnam’s national football team.

Hung will have his first game as Da Nang’s head coach when the club faces Nam Dinh FC on May 7.

Coach Le Huynh Duc said good bye to Da Nang after 13 years of training. Photo zingnews.vn

The loss was Da Nang’s fourth in six matches and put a serious dent in their chances of finishing in the top six teams after the mid-season split, with 16 points in 12 matches only good enough for ninth in the V.League 1 table.

The series of bad results put great pressure on coach Duc and immediately after the home loss, he resigned.

Duc came to Da Nang to replace coach Phan Thanh Hung in 2008 and helped the team win V.League 1 championships in 2009 and 2012.

“As a coach, it is normal to work or take a break. If you do well, the players are excited, then you succeed. And when I failed, I took responsibility,” said Duc.

“As for my way of building my playing style, I think it doesn’t matter,” he added.

After Duc resigned, Da Nang contacted coach Hung and hired him.

Coach Hung coached Becamex Binh Duong earlier this season, but due to health reasons, he resigned but is now apparently well enough to work again.

Hung was the former national team coach and guided Than Quang Ninh to fourth place in the V.League 1 2020.  Before coming to Quang Ninh in 2016, the 60-year-old coach helped Hanoi FC win V.League 1 titles in 2010 and 2013, and the Super Cup in 2010.

Earlier, Hung played for Quang Nam Da Nang (now SHB Da Nang) and won the national football championship in 1992. He and his team reached the semi-finals of the Asian Cup Winners’ Cup in 1992, the best result of a Vietnamese team in the continental event.

He was called up to the national team in 1993 to compete in the 1994 World Cup qualifying round at the age of 33 and scored a goal for the Vietnamese team in a 3-2 defeat to Singapore. After that, he also played in the SEA Games 17.

In other games on Sunday, Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) drew with Binh Duong 2-2; Hanoi FC beat Sai Gon FC 3-1; HCM City defeated Hai Phong 3-0; Thanh Hoa beat Song Lam Nghe An 1-0; Hong Linh Ha Tinh bested Nam Dinh 3-2; and Binh Dinh drew 1-1 with Quang Ninh.

After 12 matches, HAGL lead the league 29 points, followed by Viettel with 26 points.

VNS

In the 2-1 victory over SHB Da Nang, Brazilian Caíque Lemes, Bui Duy Thuong, Truong Van Thiet, Nguyen Trong Dai and Nguyen Thanh Binh were each dealt a yellow card for committing fouls.

According to VFF regulations, since Viettel collected more than two yellow cards in a game, the club would have to pay a fine of VND3 million ($129).

Caíque Lemes has received three yellow cards this season and he will be absent from the next game when Viettel take on Hong Linh Ha Tinh on May 7. The game is set to take place at Viet Tri Stadium in Phu Tho Province instead of Viettel’s home ground Hang Day Stadium in Hanoi due to the Covid-19 situation in the capital. No spectators will be allowed on site.

Viettel, the defending champions, are second on the table with three points less than leaders Hoang Anh Gia Lai.

All seven games in the last round of V. League’s first leg will start from 5 p.m. on Friday. This is a key round of this season, as the top six teams from the first leg would race for the title in table A while the bottom eight fight to avoid relegation in table B.

HCM City drew 1-1 with Viettel in the V.League 1 on Tuesday. Photo vtc.vn

Football

HCM City — Hosts HCM City FC drew 1-1 with defending champions Viettel in the V.League 1 on Tuesday, denting their hopes of retaining the title.

Viettel got the opening goal at Thống Nhất Stadium from Bruno Matos in the 17th minute after a howler by home goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung and while they created plenty of chances, the visitors failed to double the lead due to wasteful finishing.

After the break, HCM City equalised in the 62nd minute, with new signing Patrick Da Silva netting the rebound after Sầm Ngọc Đức struck the post with a shot.

Both teams pushed on in search of a winner but in the end, they shared the spoils.

In other matches, a goal from striker  Konan Oussou in the second half helped Nam Định beat Than Quảng Ninh 1-0, dropping the hosts to a third defeat in a row after losses to Hà Nội FC and Viettel at Hàng Đẫy Stadium in Hà Nội.

In the first minutes, the match at Cẩm Phả Stadium was quite balanced as the two teams played cautiously and played the majority of the game in the middle of the park.

In the second half, Oussou and Vũ Thế Vương combined well after a flowing Nam Dinh counter-attack to set Oussou up for an easy goal in the 76th minute.

In the evening’s other match, which was played without fans due to COVID-19 concerns, Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh defeated visitors Becamex Bình Dương 4-2.

Kelly Kester opened the scoring for Hà Tĩnh in the 16th minute with a header from a free-kick, Phạm Tuấn Hải doubled the score in the 42nd minute and Trần Phi Sơn made it 3-0 at the end of the first half.

It was more of the same after the break, as the hosts raised the score to 4-0 thanks to Nguyễn Thanh Long’s own goal in the 55th minute.

Bình Dương scored consolation goals through Tống Anh Tỷ in the 69th minute and Victor Mansaray in the 88th minute, but it was too little, too late.

The win lifted Hà Tĩnh off the bottom of the table and to 10th place with 12 points. Bình Dương fell to sixth place and face the risk of falling into the relegation group when the league splits soon.

On Wednesday night, SHB Da Nang will take on Sai Gon FC, Thanh Hoa face league leaders Hoang Anh Gia Lai, Ha Noi FC face Topenland Binh Dinh and Hai Phong will play Song Lam Nghe An. — VNS

>>> Hong Linh Ha Tinh see off Becamex Binh Duong to escape bottom

Minh Vuong put HAGL ahead shortly after halftime before Cong Phuong doubled their advantage on the penalty spot 20 minutes later. Gramoz managed to earn a consolation goal for the hosts just seconds before the final whistle.

Playing at home, Thanh Hoa proved things would not be easy for HAGL as Petrovic’s side successfully blocked the visitors’ attacks throughout the first half, during which Cong Phuong missed out on an opener with his injury-time free-kick striking the crossbar.

However, HAGL promptly proved the power that has helped them dominate the V.League 1 table for the past few rounds. Just three minutes after the interval, Minh Vuong broke the deadlock with a decisive long-range strike toward the bottom left corner.

Thanh Hoa came very close to restoring parity a few minutes later, but Ngoc Tan’s powerful drive was unexpectedly denied by the crossbar after leaving goalkeeper Tuan Linh flat-footed.

HAGL’s Cong Phuong (No. 10) celebrates scoring their second goals with teammates. (Photo: VPF)

In the 67 ^th minute, Cong Phuong dealt a heavy blow to the hosts’ ambition to turn things around by successfully converting a penalty resulting from Van Loi’s infringement on Brandao in the box.

The No. 10 forward again found the back of the net two minutes later, but his goal was ruled offside by the referee.

Late in the match, Petrovic’s troops deployed several dangerous attacks on the away side, but goalkeeper Tuan Linh made a series of brilliant saves to help the guests defend their lead.

It was not until the fourth minute of stoppage time that Thanh Hoa earned a consolation goal thanks to a penalty by Gramoz. However, the remaining time was too little for them to create any further stirs.

The 2-1 victory helps HAGL extend their unbeaten run in V.League 1 to nine matches (seven wins and two draws) allowing them to move five points clear of reigning champions Viettel.

Hanoi FC (in white) have dropped to 10th position after conceding a 0-1 defeat against newbies Topenland Binh Dinh. (Photo: NDO/Tran Hai)

On the same day, V.League 1 newbies Topenland Binh Dinh edged past former champions Hanoi FC thanks to a solitary goal by Hendrio (22’), thus climbing to seventh in the standings and retaining hopes of making the top six title contenders in the second phase.

Song Lam Nghe An were beaten into bottom place following their 0-2 away defeat against Hai Phong FC, while SHB Da Nang failed to break into the top three after losing 1-2 at home to Saigon FC.

V.League 1-2021 Table – Matchweek 11

Two successive wins under the dynasty of new manager Nguyen Thanh Cong gave a strong boost to Ha Tinh’s confidence, allowing them to create a dominant match against the former champions.

The hosts needed only 16 minutes to open the scoring, with centre back Kelly Oahimijie heading home Van Hiep’s cross from a free kick.

In the following minutes, Kelly Oahimijie continued to play dynamically and constantly blocked the dangerous attacking spikes of the away side, such as Nguyen Tien Linh, Pape Omar Faye and Victor Mansary. If he had been lucky, he could have completed a double in the 39th minute with a bicycle kick that was parried by a Binh Duong player.

However, home fans did not have to wait long to celebrate their second goal, as just three minutes later, midfielder Trung Hoc burst down the right flank and returned the ball back to Tuan Hai to finish it off.

The Ha Tinh side continued to rub salt in the guests’ wounds in the next three minutes with captain Tran Phi Son delivering an impressive personal showing before firing a powerful strike from 16 metres to make it 3-0.

After the break, the hosts maintained their pressure and further extended their advantage thanks to an own goal from Binh Duong defender Thanh Long five minutes before the hour mark.

Ha Tinh captain Tran Phi Son in action during the match. (Photo: VPF)

The visitors’ efforts in the remainder of the match only helped them earn two consolation goals, by Tong Anh Ty (69’) and Mansaray (89’).

The emphatic 4-2 victory lifted Hong Linh Ha Tinh to 10th place in the table with 12 points, keeping their hope of staying in the V.League 1 alive.

On the same day, Nam Dinh FC edged past Quang Ninh Coal 1-0 away thanks to Oussou Kona’s solitary goal, thus moving up to third place with 18 points.

Meanwhile, second-placed Viettel FC saw their five-game winning run halted after being held to an unexpected 1-1 away draw by Ho Chi Minh City. With the result, Truong Viet Hoang’s side are at risk of floating up to five points away from leaders Hoang Anh Gia Lai after the 11th round concludes.

V.League 1 action will continue today (April 28) with the four remaining Round 11 matches, including Thanh Hoa FC vs Hoang Anh Gia Lai, SHB Da Nang vs Saigon FC, Hai Phong FC vs Song Lam Nghe An, and Hanoi FC vs Topenland Binh Dinh.