HÀ NỘI – Hosts Hoàng Anh Gia Lai tied 10-man Sông Lam Nghệ An in a goalless match during the V.League’s round seven yesterday in the Central Highlands city of Pleiku.

Quế Ngọc Hải of Sông Lam Nghệ An, who has returned to football following his being banned for six-months because of his violent tackle to SHB Đà Nẵng last season, and after he received two yellow cards due to his penalties against Hoàng Anh Gia Lai’s players. Hải will be again absent from the league for two matches.

Thousands of fans came to fill the 12,000-seat stadium, but did not witness any goals, although many chances were created by both sides.

Trần Phi Sơn, Odat Onoriode Marshal and Ouattara Baba S. Affoloh of the visiting side tested goalkeeper Tô Vĩnh Lợi’s skills, while Vũ Văn Thanh, Lê Đức Lương and Nguyễn Văn Toàn of the hosts missed their opportunities.

The draw gave each team one point and maintained them in the middle of the ranking.

Next week, Hoàng Anh Gia Lai will play FLC Thanh Hóa on away grounds, while Sông Lam Nghệ An will host Long An at home.

Yesterday, Long An suffered a 1-3 defeat in a match against Sài Gòn FC at the Thống Nhất Stadium.

The loss pushed Long An near the bottom of the table, with only four points after seven matches.

On the other hand, Sài Gòn enjoyed their first victory after moving into their new home.

Sài Gòn took advantage when Long An lost Huỳnh Tấn Tài was sent off with a red card at the 31st minute.

The hosts went ahead with an opening goal by former Paris Saint Germain striker Jean Eudes Maurice 12 minutes after the interval. Ngân Văn Đại doubled the score 10 minutes later, netting from a straight header.

Captain Nguyễn Ngọc Duy made it 3-0 with a penalty kick, just minutes before Văn Tân narrowed the result for Long An with his header near the end of the game.In another game yesterday, Hà Nội T&T found their winning pace, defeating Đồng Tháp 5-2, despite being the visiting team at Cao Lãnh Stadium.

The second win in a row was a strong push for the former champions, after their previous four losses and one draw. With the win, they jumped from the SOS area to tenth place.

Hoàng Vũ Olaleya Samson completed his hat trick in 30 minutes in the second half, after Đỗ Hùng Dũng’s opener at the 11th and Gonzalo Damian Marronkle’s goal 10 minutes before the break.

Đồng Tháp’s Samson Kpenosen and Marko Simic scored one goal each, but that was not enough to rescue their team from the bottom of the table.

In the early matches of the round on Saturday, Hải Phòng beat Quảng Ninh Coal 2-1, Quảng Nam tied Sanna Khánh Hòa 1-1, and Cần Thơ made headlines when they knocked-out title favourite FLC Thanh Hóa 5-2.

The last match of the round is between Becamex Bình Dương and SHB Đà Nẵng, which will be held today at Chi Lăng Stadium. -- VNS