Football

Quảng Nam beat Hải Phòng in National Cup

HÀ NỘI — Striker Junior Claudecir scored twice to help Quảng Nam beat Hải Phòng 2-1 in the last 16 of the National Cup at Tam Kỳ Stadium yesterday.

With this win, Quảng Nam earned a ticket to compete in the quarter-finals.

Claudecir scored two goals in the 76th and 93rd minute, while Vũ Ngọc Thịnh made a goal in the 85th minute.

Elsewhere, Quảng Ninh bested Bình Phước 2-0 at Cẩm Phả Stadium, Bình Dương won Viettel 3-2 at Bình Dương Stadium and Sông Lam Nghệ An beat Hà Nội 4-3 in the penalty shoot-out after drawing 1-1 in the main halves.

On Saturday, SHB Đà Nẵng crushed FLC Thanh Hóa 5-1.

Gaston Merlo scored a hat-trick, while Võ Huy Toàn and Hoàng Minh Tâm scored a goal each for Đà Nẵng.

The only goal of Thanh Hóa in this match was scored by striker Uche when he completed successfully a penalty kick in the 68th minute.

However, Đà Nẵng’s win was not integral, as their key striker Hà Đức Chinh got injured and was forced to leave the ground in the 31st minute.

According to the latest news, Chinh will be out for two months because of the broken rib.

It means Chinh won’t train with the national team to prepare for the match with Jordan in the qualifying round of Asian Cup 2019.

Earlier, with impressive performances in the FIFA U20 World Cup, Chinh and six other players from the U20 team were called to the national team.

Chinh may also miss the chance to compete in the upcoming Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia in August.

In the other match on Saturday, Hoàng Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) said goodbye to the tournament after the team lost to Sài Gòn FC in the penalty shoot-out. They were tied 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes.

Although HAGL dominated the match since the first minute, HAGL couldn’t break the defence line of Sài Gòn.

After the break, amid boisterous fans, Sài Gòn opened the score with a quick attack by Patrick dos Santos Cruz.

Coach Nguyễn Quốc Tuấn of HAGL had to adjust his personnel to find goals. Trần Minh Vương coolly put his header past the Sài Gòn goal-keeper to level the score at 1-1.

HAGL then created many chances to score but they failed.

Tied 1-1 at the end of the competition time, the two sides had to compete in the penalty shoot-out to decide the winner, who would then play in the next round. Sài Gòn beat HAGL 4-3.

Elswhere on Saturday, Sanna Khánh Hòa beat HCM City 3-2 in the penalty shoot-out after drawing goalless in the main halves. Cần Thơ beat Long An 2-0. — VNS