ROUT: Hà Nội players celebrate their win in the V.League yesterday. The defending champions thrashed Thanh Hoá 5-0. Photo webthethao.vn

HÀ NỘI  Hà Nội trounced Thanh Hoá 5-0 yesterday to stay on top of V.League 1.

Striker Pape Omar and captain Nguyễn Văn Quyết netted a double each while Papa Ibou Kebe scored the other.

Quyết torn Thanh Hoá’s defence to pieces from the 40th minute, sending a ball to Omar who added a light touch to open the score.

It was 2-0 for the hosts just 10 minutes after the break. Senegalese Omar again received a ball from national defender Trần Văn Kiên and made no mistake to complete his double.

French Kebe who signed his contract with Hà Nội last month marked his name on board one minute before the end of official time.

Quyết, after much effort, found goals for himself in the 81st and 90th minutes.

Quyết’s outstanding performance was under the eyes of national coach Park Hang-seo who is hunting players for his squads at the World Cup qualification and SEA Games later this year.

It was Quyết’s fourth goal in three matches.

Earlier, Lâm Ti Phông’s corner kick was the only goal of the match between Sanna Khánh Hoà and SHB Đà Nẵng on Saturday.

At the 30th minute, Phông took charge of the kick from the left wing. His finish sent the ball curving past Đà Nẵng’s defenders and goalkeeper Thanh Bình to enter the net.

Former champions Đà Nẵng tried to find an equaliser but failed to beat Khánh Hoà’s concrete defence.

It was the hosts’ second win in a row and they renewed their hope of staying in the V.League 1 this season.

Khánh Hoà are still bottom with 20 points, but they narrowed the gap to three points from their nearest rival, Hải Phòng FC, who tied with former winners Sông Lam Nghệ An 0-0 yesterday at the Vinh Stadium.

Also on Saturday, hosts Quảng Ninh and Nam Định shared one point each after their match ended goalless.

Ten-man Quảng Nam defeated HCM City 2-0 in a match where the referee gave the hosts a controversial penalty.

Playing without midfielder Văn Thuận, HCM City faced difficulties although managed to maintain balance against the hosts.

Things changed in the added time of the first half.

Quảng Nam’s Gabriel dos Santos broke through HCM City’s line-up. He was fouled by defender Ngô Tùng Quốc around the penalty area.

Referee Nguyễn Đình Thái pointed to the spot and gave a penalty for Quảng Nam under strong objection of HCM City coaches and players who believed that the fault was made out of the box.

Hoàng Vũ Samson converted the penalty into the opener.

Quảng Nam slowed down the pace of the match in the second half. But their defenders worked well to prevent HCM City from scoring even when midfielder Đức Lộc was sent off after his second yellow card at the 77th minute.

HCM City conceded the second goal when Samson escaped from all eyes to take Hồng Sơn’s perfect pass and send it home.

Coach Chung Hae Seong of HCM City through an interpreter said “it was not football” referring to the penalty that was the main cause of his team’s defeat.

However, head of the Việt Nam Football Federation’s Referee Council Dương Văn Hiền said the penalty was the right decision. Santos made a mistake out of the box but he made another afterwards and deserved to be penalised.

HCM City are still in second place on 35 points but the gap between leaders Hà Nội has been extended to five points. VNS