Draw puts Hanoi T&T on hold for V-League title with two rounds left

Draw puts Hanoi T&T on hold for V-League title with two rounds left

Binh Dinh secure second place at First Division

By Vu Duc - The Saigon Times Daily

Van Tien of Navibank Saigon (L) fights for the ball with Khanh Hoa’s Ngoc Dieu during their V-League football match at Thong Nhat Stadium in HCMC on Sunday - Photo: Ba Chau

Already five points clear of second-place Haiphong in round 23, the leaders Hanoi T&T had needed three points in their trip to Ninh Binh to clinch this year’s title but only if Haiphong suffered loss or draw against Dong Thap at Cao Lanh City.

However, Hanoi T&T’s clinching was not to be as they shared the point with Ninh Binh in Sunday’s clash while Haiphong were defeated 0-1 by Dong Thap on Sunday.

With the draw, Hanoi T&T are now six points clear of second-place Haiphong and need just a draw to take the title in the next round. Hanoi T&T now have 45 points from 14 wins, three draws and seven losses.

Haiphong were still at second with 39 points from 24 games, the same points as third-placed Khatoco Khanh Hoa, who beat relegated Navibank Saigon 2-0 at Thong Nhat Stadium in HCMC. 

Meanwhile, the game between the last year’s V-League runners-up Becamex Binh Duong and defending champions SHB Danang was the most interesting match as the runners-up had sacked their third coach so far this season. SHB Danang have been playing badly in the second stage after leading when the first stage ended in round 13.

Becamex Binh Duong had replaced coach Duong Ngoc Hung with Portuguese assistant coach Luis Morgado Rodrigues. Hung, who had only been head coach since round 19, was sacked by Binh Duong after a humiliating defeat (1-5) against Khanh Hoa club last week.

In comparison to previous coaches Mai Duc Chung and Dang Tran Chinh, Hung stayed with Binh Duong club for only 20 days and had five matches, including one win, one draw, and three losses.

With the support of home fans, SHB Danang put pressure on their opponents from the beginning of the game and the home side took the lead as Nicolas Hernandez opened just four minutes into the game.

After the goal, Binh Duong dominated the game and Huynh Kesley Alves leveled it 1-1 for the visitors in the 24th minute.

Merlo Gaston helped SHB Danang advance again in the 64th minute before Philani finalized the game at 2-2 in the 87th minute.

Despite the draw, SHB Danang remained at the ninth position of the ranking table with 34 points after the round and Binh Duong dropped to sixth place with 37 points.

SHB Danang were still in the danger area as Ninh Binh, Hoang Anh Gia Lai and Thanh Hoa will play to avoid the play-off position since the V-League has just two rounds to go.

Lam Son Thanh Hoa narrowed the gap with other teams after beating relegated Nam Dinh 3-1 at Nam Dinh’s Thien Truong Stadium. Thanh Hoa collected 31 points, ranking at 12th place, just three points behind ninth-positioned SHB Danang.

Bottom-place Nam Dinh and Navibank Saigon both have already relegated to the First Division next season. The clashes between the teams for avoiding play-off position are the most interesting matches of the next two rounds.

In other games, Hoa Phat Hanoi lost 0-1 to Song Lam Nghe An at Hanoi’s Hang Day Stadium and Dong Tam Tiles earned a 2-0 victory over Hoang Anh Gia Lai in the Central Highlands city of Pleiku.

Binh Dinh secure second place at First Division

Binh Dinh secured important second place after beating TDC Binh Duong 1-0 in the 24th round of the Vietnamese First Division 2010 over the weekend while Dong Nai kept its hopes of avoiding relegation ali

The only goal from Cruz D Jorgeluiz in the 69th minute helped Binh Dinh snatch second from Quang Ninh Coal, who lost 0-1 to Quang Nam in the central coast city of Tam Ky in the round.

Meanwhile, Hanoi ACB retained their lead despite drawing 1-1 to Tien Giang at Hanoi’s Hang Day Stadium on Saturday. Hanoi ACB now have 41 points from 22 games, just only one point ahead second-placed Binh Dinh.   

On the other side of the ranking table, Dong Nai ranked at bottom though they beat Tay Ninh in their home ground. Dong Nai now have 22 points from 22 games, just one point behind 12th-positioned Tien Giang and 11th-placed HCMC Club, who did not play in the round.

Dong Nai, HCMC Club, Tien Giang and Viettel, who were defeated 1-2 by An Giang in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang, will compete to avoid the relegation in the next two rounds while Hanoi ACB, Binh Dinh, Quang Ninh Coal, An Giang and Quang Nam will fight to secure the First Division title.