Football

HÀ NỘI — FLC Thanh Hóa had their first win under the guidance of new coach Nguyễn Đức Thắng, defeating Quảng Ninh Coal 3-1 in the eighth round of the V.League 1 yesterday.

The game was held at Cẩm Phả Stadium in the northern province of Quảng Ninh.

Taking advantage of playing on their hometurf, Quảng Ninh Coal played aggressively from the opening.

They had a chance to score a goal in the third minute but midfielder Marcus Vinicius failed to seize the opportunity.

Nearly 20 minutes later, the visitors got to respond. Pape Omar passed the ball to Hoàng Đình Tùng, but Tùng couldn’t beat goalie Hoàng Tuấn Linh of the hosts.

The two teams seemed set to enter the break with a goalless draw, when suddenly Edward Ofere scored to open for the visitors before the first half closed.

After the break, the two teams played counter attack, determined to earn three points. And Eydison Teofilo Soares had the equalizer for the hosts in the 52^nd minute.

In the 62^nd minute, striker Edward Ofere, a Nigerian footballer, headed to help Thanh Hóa raise the score to 2-1.

Quảng Ninh fought back to narrow the gap but they couldn’t beat the defence line of Thanh Hóa.

From a rapid attack, Nguyễn Trọng Hoàng fixed the match of 3-1 for Thanh Hóa.

In another match yesterday, Hà Nội FC continued showing their good form as they easily beat Nam Định 2-0 at Thiên Trường Stadium.

Đỗ Duy Mạnh and Ganiyu Bolayi Oseni were the heroes of the capital team in this game.

At Tam Kỳ Stadium, defending champions Quảng Nam tied 1-1 with Sông Lam Nghệ An.

On Saturday, Hoàng Anh Gia Lai drew 2-2 with Cần Thơ. SHB Đà Nẵng crushed HCM City 3-0, while Becamex Bình Dương bested Hải Phòng 2-1.

Hà Nội FC are the best team at this year’s national premier league at present. They top the standing with six wins and two draws to earn 20 points, followed by Quảng Ninh with 14 points and Bình Dương with 13 points. — VNS