HÀ NỘI — Hoàng Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) beat Nam Định 2-0 yesterday in the 24th round of V.League 1 at Thiên Trường Stadium in the northern province of Nam Định.

Facing pressure to win and escape the bottom of the table, hosts Nam Định entered the match with strong determination.

Although the visiting team played aggressively from the opening whistle, they were unable to break through Nam Định’s defense.

In the 26th minute, Minh Vương failed to capitalise on a great chance created by Công Phượng, scuppering a one-on-one situation with goalkeeper Quốc Thiện Esele from Nam Định.

HAGL again had an excellent chance after a pass by Phượng to Việt Hưng, but he missed.

Soon after that, Vương managed an easy header into Nam Định’s net, after a pass by Lê Văn Sơn, scoring for the visiting team.

However, HAGL started losing players as injured Đức Lương was replaced with Osmar, and Phượng got a yellow card after crashing into Hạ Long from Nam Định.

In the first 30 minutes of second half, the hosts missed a number of chances.

Nam Định almost equalised, but efforts by Pereira, Đình Mạnh, Sỹ Minh and Viết Tú were wasted, with their shots wide of the target.

In the 76th minute, Phượng failed to score another goal as the ball hit Thiện Esele’s shoulders.

However, he manage to put the ball away after HALG were awarded a penalty in the first extra minute of the second half.

With this victory, HAGL are at ease at ninth in the table, while Nam Định will struggle to leave the bottom again in the last two matches of the 24th round.

Elsewhere, XSKT Cần Thơ beat Hải Phòng 2-0, Sanna Khánh Hòa beat Hồ Chí Minh City 2-0, while Thanh Hóa easily defeated SLNA 1-0. — VNS