HÀ NỘI — Hải Phòng ended their losing record against Hà Nội T&T with a win on Saturday in the V.League’s round 20 on their home turf at Lạch Tray Stadium.

Hải Phòng had not beaten Hà Nội T&T in the last five years. They came from behind to take a 2-1 victory, with two goals by Nguyễn Đình Bảo and Lê Xuân Hùng in the second half.

Hoàng Vũ Samson opened the score for the visitors at the 30th minute with a straight shot.

Hải Phòng strongly stands on top of the league with 45 points, five more than Hà Nội T&T and six more than third-placed SHB Đà Nẵng, who unexpectedly lost 3-4 to Quảng Nam, despite playing at home.

“Hải Phòng could not beat them for five years. But we did it today. It was a great job,” said coach Trương Việt Hoàng.

“On the way to the triumph, there are still other strong rivals to come, but we will play all with the same determination because it will be tougher for us when the league season nears the end. Making just one mistake by you would bring victory to them,” he said.

Becamex Bình Dương seemed have no chance to protect their title, after a 1-3 defeat to Hoàng Anh Gia Lai in Pleiku City.

Midfielder Trần Minh Vương scored a hat trick in the first half, as well as one goal in the second and one in the additional time.

Becamex Bình Dương easily trounced Hoàng Anh Gia Lai 5-0 in the V.League’s first leg match and twice in the National Cup tournament, found no way to resist the attack by the host’s younger players. What they could do was score a goal at the 59th minute by midfielder Nguyễn Trọng Hoàng to narrow the result.

“My players missed too many chances in a match that some of my key footballers were sidelined at because of injuries. We have to work harder in the coming games to fix all problems,” said coach Nguyễn Thanh Sơn of Becamex Bình Dương.

Meanwhile, coach Nguyễn Quốc Tuấn from Hoàng Anh Gia Lai was not surprised by the win.

“We were confident ahead of the game because they recorded a lot of problems recently and were not at their peak, while we are in the right track " he said.

“Minh Vương had an outstanding performance today. He was worthy to be named the most valuable player of the match tag.” 

Hoàng Anh Gia Lai, with 21 points, has not moved from their third position from the bottom after their win, but maintain their three-point gap with Long An.

Becamex Bình Dương dropped to 11th place, just one position higher than Hoàng Anh Gia Lai.

Long An, on the same day, defeated last place team Đồng Tháp 3-1.

Becamex Bình Dương may not have the chance to defend their title, and Đồng Tháp may not stay with the V.League after their 15th loss.

In Vinh, hosts Sông Lam Nghệ An won 1-0 over their neighbour FLC Thanh Hóa. Hồ Tấn Tài scored the only goal at the 26th mark.

In Cần Thơ, Cần Thơ were defeated 0-1 by Sanna Khánh Hòa. Trần Đình Khương made his name in the board just 15 minutes from the start of the match. — VNS