HÀ NỘI — Hải Phòng officially lost their top position in the V.League after their 1-3 defeat to Quảng Ninh Coal yesterday at Cẩm Phả Stadium.

Having 34 points as does SHB Đà Nẵng, Hải Phòng is in second place due to a difference in goals.

SHB Đà Nẵng, which beat Hải Phòng last weekend, took a 1-0 win on Saturday over defending champions Becamex Bình Dương.

Nghiêm Xuân Tú opened the game’s scoring at the 25th minute with a super free kick which went straight into the net.

Then Dyachenko Rodion Sergey made it 2-0 just minutes after the interval.

The Russian forward took a ball in the box from striker Vũ Minh Tuấn and netted with a close kick.

Hải Phòng worked hard in the second half, but all they could score was one goal by Lê Văn Thắng in the additional time.

However, Quảng Binh Coal’s Bùi Văn Hiếu shined two minutes later, scoring the third goal for the host side.

The win pushed Quảng Ninh to No 5 in the ranking with 32 points, just two fewer than the top two teams.

In another match yesterday, Long An defeated Sài Gòn FC 1-0, giving them a strong lift to escape from the SOS area.

Marko Simic netted the only goal just four minutes before the finish, ending Sài Gòn’s losing streak, which continued since the tournament’s second leg period.

Long An remain in the second position from the bottom, but now equalized 15 points with the top team, Hoàng Anh Gia Lai, who lost 0-1 to former champions Sông Lam Nghệ An on Friday.

“We have had difficulties in players, but all of us always try our best. We need to keep our spirits up for the rest of the season,” said coach Ngô Quang Sang.

“We are satisfied with Simic’s effort in practicing and competing. He did a good job this match, scoring three points,” said Sáng, when asked about his new player’s performance, adding that the win would be a strong influence on the entire team to overcome Hoàng Anh Gia Lai and move beyond the relegation area.

On the other side, coach Nguyễn Đức Thắng said the loss was partly due to a mistake by goalkeeper Văn Hoàng, who is young to be playing in such a difficult tournament like V.League. And the former national defender also said the loss was in part due to the hot weather, which strongly affected his team’s showing.

In other games in Saturday’s round, Sanna Khánh Hòa lost 0-1 to Quảng Nam, although they played on their home turf. FLC Thanh Hóa beat Cần Thơ 3-2 in a match in which players of each side scored in rotation. — VNS