Nam Định and HAGL both declined in performance at the V-League

Becamex TP.HCM, under coach Đặng Trần Chỉnh, has temporarily shown signs of revival. Young player Võ Hoàng Minh Khoa was the hero by scoring the opening goal and contributing to the penalty that led to the second. Minh Khoa’s outstanding performance opens a big opportunity for him to be recalled to the Vietnamese national team under coach Kim Sang Sik, especially as the central midfield position lacks a standout figure.

At Lạch Tray stadium, Hải Phòng easily defeated HAGL 3-0. Foreign players Friday and Tagueu scored in the first half, ending all hopes for the visitors. Late in the match, foreign player Antonio caused goalkeeper Trung Kiên to concede his third goal due to a mistake by the visiting team’s player.

This is an alarming result for director of football Vũ Tiến Thành’s team. Despite goalkeeper Trần Trung Kiên’s outstanding performance, HAGL’s dull play and inexperienced players continue to sink them to the bottom of the table. With only 3 points after 7 rounds, HAGL is a strong candidate for relegation, even though they still have one match to play.

Thanh Hoá made a tremendous effort to escape the last place successfully after a brave 2-2 draw at PVF CAND’s stadium. Coach Thạch Bảo Khanh’s team can only blame themselves for having led 2-1 until late in the second half. However, Văn Lợi scored a spectacular goal to equalize 2-2 in an emotional moment for Thanh Hoá. The highlights of the match were the young U23 Vietnamese stars on the home side, Văn Quân and Xuân Bắc, who played well and gave PVF CAND an advantage. Nevertheless, Thanh Hoá showed experience and composure to avoid danger.

In the late match on October 19, Công an TP.HCM also failed to take advantage of CAHN’s dropped points against SLNA to claim second place. Coach Lê Huỳnh Đức started newcomer Lee Williams for Công an TP.HCM. However, the Vietnamese-American striker’s performance was judged as clumsy, lacking ball control and lacking coordination with forward Tiến Linh. Raphael Utzig’s absence due to injury was an unexpected loss for the home team before the match.

The home team at Thống Nhất stadium nearly conceded a penalty late in the first half against Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh. However, referee Nguyễn Văn Phúc reviewed the video footage and denied the visitors the penalty.

Coach Lê Huỳnh Đức’s team faced even greater difficulties in the second half when Huy Toàn was sent off. Nevertheless, Patrik Lê Giang and his teammates stood firm against Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh’s pressure for the final 30 minutes. The 0-0 draw places Công an TP.HCM third with 14 points, while coach Nguyễn Công Mạnh’s team ranks sixth with 9 points.