Both teams fielded a strong squad, raising the tempo of the match right from the start.
Hosts T&T dominated the match during the first minutes with their home field advantage and consecutively organised attacks on Song Lam Nghe An. In the 25th minute, following a series of technical plays by Quang Hai, Sam Ngoc Duc delivered the ball into the penalty box for Hoang Vu Samson but Samson’s finish did not result in a goal for Hanoi T&T.
The guests Nghe An played counter-attack and waited for chances, but Hanoi T&T were careful with quick and dangerous counterattacks from the visitors. Ball possession remained balanced in the final minutes and nil-all score remained at the end of the 1st half at Hang Day Stadium.
The first 15 minutes in the 2nd half took place at high speed, but attacks deployed by both teams were still ineffective.
It was not until the 66th minute that Do Hung Dung produced a beautiful volley to claim the opener for Hanoi T&T. From a free-kick by his teammate, the ball was passed to Hung Dung to which he delivered the ball below the crossbar and past goalkeeper Nguyen Manh before arriving inside Song Lam Nghe An’s net.
The game continued to gather tension after the opening goal. The visitors made a range of efforts but it was very difficult to break a strong defence system from T&T.
With the 3rd consecutive defeat, Song Lam Nghe An remain at No. 11 on the chart with 18 points after 17 rounds. The narrow win was enough for Hanoi to take 4th place from Saigon FC, who defeated hosts XSKT Can Tho 1-0 earlier on Saturday.
In other matches, Hai Phong suffered a 3-0 loss to SHB Da Nang at home, QNK Quang Nam beat Hoang Anh Gia Lai 2-0, Quang Ninh Coal trounced Long An 2-1, FLC Thanh Hoa tied 2-2 with Becamex Binh Duong and Dong Thap clinched Sanna Khanh Hoa 1-1.
