Football

HÀ NỘI — Hoàng Anh Gia Lai clinched a big win against Quảng Ninh Coal on their home turf in the central highlands of Pleiku City in the V.League yesterday.

With this victory, they steered clear of the SOS area in V.League.

The former champions beat title favourites Quảng Ninh Coal 4-2 in the 17th-round match, which saw clubs resuming action after a two-month rest.

Marcelo Motta opened the score in the 25th minute for the hosts. His teammate Châu Ngọc Quang secured a double, one in each half, while Hoàng Thanh Tùng succeeded in converting a penalty towards the end of the match.

Dyachenko Rodion Sergey and Mạc Hồng Quân scored the goals for Quảng Ninh Coal, netting them both in the second half.

The win helped Hoàng Anh Gia Lai climb two rungs to the No. 9 spot with 20 points. Quảng Ninh were down from No 3 to No 6 after the match. The club had introduced Nguyễn Kiều as manager in this match, the only woman in the men’s football coaching board of the V.League.

In the match in Vinh City, defending champions Hà Nội FC beat former winners Sông Lam Nghệ An 2-1.

The win helped them narrow the gap with leaders FLC Thanh Hóa, who suffered a 0-2 loss to Sài Gòn FC at the Thống Nhất Stadium yesterday.

Thanh Hóa stayed on top with 33 points. Hà Nội are close behind with 31 points.

Sông Lam Nghệ An were pushed to the No 11 spot, having only three points more than the SOS group.

Sài Gòn, meanwhile, jumped to the top three with 30 points in their pocket.

The only goal by new comer Toure Youssouf helped Sanna Khánh Hòa overcome HCM City 1-0. Coach Võ Đình Tân and his team maintained their winning streak over HCM City in all the tournaments this season.

It was HCM City’s third unsuccessful match in a row. It left them at No. 10 with 20 points.

Khánh Hòa are in the fourth position, with one point less than Sài Gòn.

Long An were close to getting relegated after their 2-3 loss yesterday, which is their 14th so far. They were at the bottom with only five points from one win and two draws.

The only way for them to stay with the national premier league is to collect at least 25 points from nine matches.

Last season, Long An were No 2 from the bottom with 19 points. They beat First Division’s runner-up Viettel 1-0 in the play-off match to keep their place in the V.League. — VNS