Hoàng Vũ Samson of Quảng Nam (centre) scored the opening goal in the match against Sanna Khánh Hoà yesterday. Quảng Nam won 4-2. — Photo sggp.org.vn

Football

HÀ NỘI — Quảng Nam joined the V.League’s top three after their 4-2 win over Sanna Khánh Hòa on Friday at home.

Khánh Hòa, meanwhile, remain mired at the bottom of the table after their 12th loss this season.

Hoàng Vũ Samson opened the scoring for the hosts just 14 minutes into the game with a close-range finish.

It was 2-0 just two minutes later when Rodrigo da Silve Dias nodded home a free header in the box.

Khánh Hòa’s defenders looked disconnected and kept making mistakes, letting Quảng Nam attack down the left wing on both goals.

Khánh Hòa’s coach Võ Đình Tân asked his players to respond and up the tempo, and they were rewarded with a goal to narrow the gap in the 22nd minute. Patiyo Tambwe collected a perfect pass from Toure Youssouf from the right wing and fired home.

He completed his double eight minutes later. Midfielder Nguyễn Trung Đại Dương broke the offside trap and sent the ball to the Congolese striker, who scored a simple header from inside the box.

The second half, however, belonged to the hosts as relegation-threatened Khánh Hòa were punished after pushing forward in search of a goal.

They left too much space for Quảng Nam’s attackers, and were bailed out time after time by goalkeeper Nguyễn Tuấn Mạnh.

Mạnh could only hold strong until the 51st minute, when Rodrigo broke into the box and netted to bring the score to 3-2 for the hosts.

Khánh Hòa nearly equalised with a minute left in regulation time as substitute Quốc Chí’s blast beat the defenders and goalkeeper Phạm Văn Cường but hit the crossbar and deflected wide.

Four minutes into stoppage time, Quảng Nam Captain Nguyễn Thanh Trung put the game out of reach. He broke the offside trap from the central area and completed a long solo run into Khánh Hòa’s box by scoring to the right corner.

"We played poorly in the first half when we let Khánh Hòa score two goals in a row to level the score," said the captain Trung after the match. "However, it was much better in the second half. We attacked well and turned our opportunities into goals."

"We have been putting in good performances recently and hope to maintain it until the end of the season."

With 31 points, Quảng Nam are temporally in third behind defending champions Hà Nội and HCM City.

Khánh Hòa remain at the bottom with 20 points. Their loss was good news for former champions Hoàng Anh Gia Lai and Thanh Hóa, who now sit three points above them.

Hoàng Anh Gia Lai will host another former champion SHB Đà Nẵng tomorrow, while Thanh Hoá will visit Sài Gòn FC today.

Elsewhere, Hải Phòng will host Viettel, Becamex Bình Dương will travel to Hạ Long to play Quảng Ninh and Sông Lam Nghệ An will welcome HCM City. A match between Hà Nội and Nam Định will be moved to September 11 as the hosts have left for Turkmenistan ahead of the second leg of the AFC Cup Inter-Zone Final which will be held on August 27. — VNS