>>> V.League: Song Lam Nghe An climb to third after convincing win
>>> V.League: HCM City FC firmly at top after third win
>>> V.League: Hanoi FC beat Viettel 2-0 in capital derby
Third consecutive win for HCM City
Contrary to struggling season last year, HCM City are demonstrating extremely impressive form in the 2019 V.League, remaining the only team to maintain a winning streak after the first three matches. The appearance of the Republic of Korea tactician, Chung Hae Seong, seems to have brought new vitality to the southern club this season.
A pragmatic but efficient playing style has been perfectly showcased by the HCM City players, inspiring them to three victories in a row and two points clear at the top of Vietnam’s top-tier league in the past two rounds of play. Chung’s side are emerging as the biggest “dark horse” in the tournament and promise to be a real challenge to Hanoi FC in their title defence ambition.
Van Toan could not salvage Hoang Anh Gia Lai
The significant efforts of forward Nguyen Van Toan prove not enough to bring Hoang Anh Gia Lai to a victory.
Following the overseas departure of key pillars Nguyen Cong Phuong and Luong Xuan Truong, Hoang Anh Gia Lai seem to have lost their inherent power. Having failed to secure at least one point at HCM City FC in match day 2 as a gift for their fans in the new season, manager Duong Minh Ninh’s side continued to be empty handed while playing host to Saigon FC.
The lack of creativity and the deadlock in implementing their style of play forced the host team to concede a 1-3 defeat at Pleiku Stadium, which was their second loss at home this season.
The only “bright spot” in the Gia Lai line-up was forward Nguyen Van Toan. He played aggressively and moved tirelessly but perhaps the Hai Duong-born player alone is not enough to save his team at the moment.
No miracle in capital derby
The capital derby between Hanoi FC and newly promoted Viettel concluded without any surprise as the reigning champions easily finished off the V.League newbies with two unanswered goals to stay firmly in second place in the standings.
Such a results was quite predictable, as manager Chu Dinh Nghiem’s side are well-known for a formidable attacking line-up with many spearheads, namely Van Quyet, Pape Omar, Oseni and Hoang Vu Samson, in addition to their abundant V.League experience. Meanwhile, despite having been supplemented with some quality players, the gap in terms of experience, form and level is too large to be cleared overnight, and Viettel still need more time to get used to the fierceness of Vietnamese football’s top division after years of absence.
Sanna Khanh Hoa BVN miss out on first points
Sanna Khanh Hoa’s poor V.League run has no sign of termination, as they extended their losing streak this season to three games. Hosting Hai Phong FC at the 19/8 Nha Trang Stadium, manager Vo Dinh Tan’s side managed to score three goals, but still could not avoid a disappointing 3-4 defeat in the end.
The third consecutive loss has kept Sanna Khanh Hoa rooted to bottom of the table with zero points, which has rung an alarming bell for Vo Dinh Tan and his players.
Ha Duc Chinh on fire to rescue SHB Da Nang at home
SHB Da Nang's forward Ha Duc Chinh has finally achieved the first goal in the 2019 V.League season.
The central-region derby between SHB Da Nang and Quang Nam FC took place in a thrilling and exciting fashion. Manager Le Huynh Duc’s troops opened the scoring, but Quang Nam came from behind to lead 2-1 in the 78th minute.
It was owing to Ha Duc Chinh’s strike in injury time that SHB Da Nang could tie up the score and secure one precious point on their home field.
More importantly, the first goal of the season proved to be significant and timely to Duc Chinh, helping to relieve the pressure on the SHB Da Nang forward, who was criticised for being silent in the first two league matches, before he joined Vietnam’s U23 team in preparation for the 2020 AFC U23 Championships qualifiers.
