Football

HÀ NỘI — Ten-man and no coach Becamex Bình Dương tied FLC Thanh Hóa 3-3 in their fifth V.League round match yesterday, at their Gò Đậu Stadium.

Coach Trần Minh Chiến was sent off at the 66th minute after an extreme reaction with referee Nguyễn Minh Thuận, as Chiến believed that Bình Dương should have a penalty when Van Bakel was at fault in the box, but Thuận refused it.

About 20 minutes later one of his assistant was also pushed to the stand because of the same behaviour.

One minute before the end, Tô Văn Vũ received the second yellow card and walked out of the game.

Taking advantage as the hosts, three-time champions Bình Dương wasted no time in opening their attacks, nearly scoring just eight minutes into the game when Thanh Thảo’s volley went a hair gap wide.

But just four minutes later, Bình Dương recieved a penalty after midfielder Đinh Tiến Thành of Thanh Hóa fell Tô Văn Vũ in the box.

Golden Ball holder Nguyễn Anh Đức easily scored a goal with a tap-in.

Hoàng Đình Tùng leveled the result for Thanh Hóa at the 25th minute, converting a smart pass from Pape Omar into a goal.

The second half saw Thanh Hóa’s raising up.

They created consecutive attempts and brought Bình Dương’s players in alert.

Their second goal came when midfielder Hồ Tấn Tài was confused during his attempt to block a ball, but he made his own goal just four minutes after the interval.

Defender Nguyễn Thanh Thảo made the game equal with his finish to the far corner of goalkeeper Thanh Thắng.

Vũ scored to make it 3-2 for the hosts, 25 minutes before he was sent off.

Omar netted his second goal in five matches for Thanh Hóa, to end the scoring.

The draw did not change their positions in the ranking.

Thanh Hóa will next entertain Cần , while Bình Dương will play Sông Lam Nghệ An.

Cần Thơ and Nghệ An yesterday also ended their game 3-3.

In the latest match Hải Phòng lost 0-2 to defending champions Quảng Nam.

Earlier on Saturday, Sài Gòn FC enjoyed their first win at the V.League, defeating former champions Hoàng Anh Gia Lai 3-1.

Bùi Trần Vũ, a former Hoàng Anh Gia Lai player, netted twice near the break after his teammate Da Sylva Dominique opened the score just 15 minutes from the first whistle.

Hoàng Anh Gia Lai’s only goal went to captain Lương Xuân Trường, which was sandwiched between Sài Gòn’s winners.

Coach Phan Văn Tài Em was very excited with his win.

“It is really great feeling when we taste our first victory. My players work very well, especially Vũ. He is really outstanding today. I may give him more opportunities in the coming games,” said the former national defender, who kept smiling at the post-match press briefing.

However, Tài knew that challenges still await him, because the league is just in their first games.

On the other side, coach Dương Minh Ninh was not satisfied with the game, blaming his defenders’ mistakes.

"We had good tactics, but the defenders did not do their job, losing their focus, which caused all three goal losses. Meanwhile, our strikers were too rusty in the second half and they failed to score a single goal. I still have many thing to do after this match,” he said.

With the win, Sài Gòn escaped from the bottom position, jumping to No 11, just one step behind Hoàng Anh Gia Lai.

Nam Định replaced Sài Gòn as the bottom-ranked team, after losing 1-3 to HCM City FC.

They were the only team in the V.League who have not won a game yet. After five matches, they have only earned only one point.

This was HCM City’s third win, as they reached fourth position. — VNS