Ambitious Hanoi were confident of winning the top position while receiving guests Khanh Hoa at Hang Day Stadium on Sunday.
In the 22nd minute, the hosts enjoyed the first chance to score as Gonzalo headed a cunning pass to Van Quyet whose following strike went off target.
Seconds before half time, the opening goal came for Hanoi T&T with Van Quyet’s successful converter of a penalty awarded to the hosts after Thanh Luong was fouled in the box.
In the second half, Hanoi proactively slowed down their pace to protect their lead. There were few attacks from the Khanh Hoa side, who are now safe from the relegation zone and away from the title race. This left the 1-0 score unchanged for the remainder of the match.
The narrow victory lifted Hanoi T&T to the top spot in the V-League standings, with better goal differences against Quang Ninh Coal, who drew 2-2 with FLC Thanh Hoa, and Hai Phong, who edged out QNK Quang Nam 2-1.
In other matches, SHB Da Nang trounced Saigon 3-1, while Song Lam Nghe An beat reigning champions Becamex Binh Duong 2-0.
Long An failed to improve their second-to-last ranking following a 3-3 draw with XSKT Can Tho, while Dong Thap remained at the bottom with just eight points after a humiliating 2-5 defeat to Hoang Anh Gia Lai.
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