Football

HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội FC failed to regain their top place after their draw match, while Long An suffered their 10th defeat in a row yesterday in V.League action.

Hà Nội was tied 1-1 in a match where they visited Sanna Khánh Hòa in Nha Trang City.

Despite the visiting side, Hà Nội scored the first goal in the 68th minute after both sides spent the first half testing each other.

Midfielder Alvaro Linares Silva received the ball and his strong header easily found the net.

The Hanoian team continued dominating the match, but failed to double the result.

They did suffered a goal in the next-to-last minute.

Nguyễn Tấn Điền had a close-range shoot-out when the ball touched a defender from the Hà Nội side and changed its direction to enter the net.

The draw result pushes Hà Nội into second place with 20 points in the ranking, behind FLC Thanh Hóa (22), who earned a controversial win of 3-2 over Hoàng Anh Gia Lai, and Hải Phòng (21), who beat Cần Thơ 3-1 on Saturday.

The match between two former champions, SHB Đà Nẵng and Becamex Bình Dương, also ended with a 1-1 result.

Nguyễn Thanh Hải opened the score for the hosts Đà Nẵng at the 78th mark, while Nguyễn Anh Đức netted an equaliser six minutes later. It was Đức’s sixth goal of the tournament, making him one of three best scorers after 12 rounds.

Long An is close to reaching the First Division after their 1-2 loss to Quảng Ninh Coal yesterday.

All goals were made in the first half, with Long An surprisingly pocketing the first goal by Vũ Em just 17 minutes into the game.

However, it was all that they could do before allowing two goals by the visiting side.

Tambwe Patiyo leveled with a tap-in, converting a smart pass from the left wing to the net.

Midfielder Xuân Tú then made a straight shot. Long An’s defender Thanh Cường, in an attempt to stop the ball, scored a goal in the last second of the first half, with the final score of the match.

New coach Nguyễn Minh Phương had tried his best, but under his reign Long An lost six matches.

They have only four points and have become a top candidate for a relegation slot this season.

Quảng Ninh, on the other hand, jumped from No 8 to No 5 with 19 points. — VNS