HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội FC defeated defending champions Quảng Nam 1-0 in the 12th round of the V.League 1 on June 9.

The game was held at Tam Kỳ Stadium in the central province of Quảng Nam.

National U23 team’s star Nguyễn Quang Hải was the hero of Hà Nội in this match. His goal helped his team earn three points.

The visitors were in clear control from the opening minutes of the game. Midfielder Moses Oloya nearly gave Hà Nội the lead in the seventh minute; however, he was offside.

After that, Hải threatened Quảng Nam’s goalie with a quick shot by his left foot but it hit the crossbar.

Oloya, a Ugandan international footballer then put his header past goalkeeper Phạm Văn Cường of Quảng Nam, but once again, he offside.

After the break, the two teams made every effort to score the opener.

Taking full advantage of an error in the hosts’ defence, the 21-year-old midfielder Hải easily got past Cường to score for Hà Nội in the 75th minute.

In the remaining time, the hosts almost scored an equalizer, but goalie Nguyễn Văn Công managed to save it.

With this win, Hà Nội raised their undefeated matches to 12. They have had 10 wins and two draws, topping the rankings with 32 points.

Quảng Nam has 16 points, ranking sixth out of 14 teams.

With this win, Hà Nội also stopped the series of 21 undefeated matches in a row at the home turf of Quảng Nam in this league.

Meanwhile, Quảng Ninh Coal is firmly rooted in second place following their 3-0 victory against Hoàng Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) at the Cẩm Phả Stadium.

Brazilian striker Teofilo Soares Eydison scored a hattrick to help Quảng Ninh win.

Elsewhere, Sài Gòn FC bested Sông Lam Nghệ An 2-1 on their home turf. — VNS