Quang Ninh Coal lead First Division despite draw
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| Cannavaro (C) visits the game between Saigon FC and Hoang Anh Gia Lai at Thong Nhat Stadium in HCMC on Saturday - Photo: Ba Chau |
HCMC - The second round of the Super League – Eximbank 2012 witnessed an impressive performance of Hanoi T&T as they defeated Becamex Binh Duong 1-0 on Sunday, gaining the most points and securing the top spot after two games.
Meanwhile, the stronger teams continued to show poor performance from the beginning of the new season when Ninh Binh suffered a 4-0 loss to Khatoco Khanh Hoa, while SHB Danang and Saigon FC shared the points with their opponents.
A focus of the round was the match between Saigon FC and Hoang Anh Gia Lai at Thong Nhat Stadium when Fabio Cannavaro, the captain of the Italian national football squad that was the champion of the World Cup 2006, joined the game as spectator about 20 minutes.
The former football star visited Vietnam at the invitation of Eximbank, who sponsored the Super League. Cannavaro landed in HCMC on Friday, for an exchange with Vietnamese fans within the framework of a Vietnam sponsored “Meeting with legends”.
Besides, the former center defender, who played for elite clubs Inter Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid, took part in a series of activities including a training session with a junior team and a fan meeting during his three-day visit here, then he left HCMC on Sunday.
Hosts Saigon FC placed more pressure on the Hoang Anh’s defending lines before Cannavaro left the game but Tran Duc Duong surprisingly opened for the visitors in the 36th minute. Kesley Huynh Alves equalized the score at 1-1 for Saigon FC in the injury time.
In Hanoi, Hanoi T&T beat Binh Duong 1-0 at Hang Day Stadium. Nguyen Van Quyet scored the only goal for his team in the 24th minute. With the second victory, Hanoi T&T lead in the ranking table with six points from two games.
Song Lam Nghe An beat Dong Thap 1-0 in the Mekong Delta city of Cao Lanh, taking the fourth place after the second round. Dieng Cheikh Abass scored for his team in the 20th minute.
Hoang Anh Gia Lai, SHB Danang, who were held 0-0 by Thanh Hoa the central province of Thanh Hoa, and Song Lam have four points each from two games but the Pleiku-based team rank second thanks to goal difference.
Meanwhile, Khatoco Khanh Hoa crushed Ninh Binh 4-0 in the central coast city of Nha Trang climbing to fifth place with thee points. The four goals went to Le Van Tan just four minutes into the game, Pham Huu Phat in the 38th minute, Le Tan Tai in the 66th minute and Justice Majabvi in the 75th minute.
In other games, Kinlongbank KG defeated Hanoi Club 3-2 in their home ground and Haiphong tied 0-0 with Navibank Saigon at Lach Tray Stadium.
Second round’s results V-League
Haiphong 1 Navibank Saigon 1
Dong Thap 0 Song Lam 1
T&T Hanoi 1 Binh Duong 0Kienlongbank 3 Hanoi Club 2Saigon FC 1 Hoang Anh 1Thanh Hoa 0 SHB Danang 0Khanh Hoa 4 Ninh Binh 0 First Division
HCMC 3 Tay Ninh 0
Hanoi 1 An Giang 1Lam Dong 2 Junior Hanoi 1Dong Tam Tiles 0 TDC Binh Duong 0Quang Ninh 0 Dong Nai 0
Binh Dinh 1 Junior SHB Danang 1Quang Nam 1 Can Tho 1 |
* Though Tay Ninh were held 0-0 Dong Nai in the second game to remain the top place of the First Division with four points while HCMC thrashed Tay Ninh 3-1 in their home ground in a later game on Sunday.
At Thong Nhat Stadium, the home fans were excited as their team dominated the game and Elennido De Jesus made hattrick for HCMC 43rd, 51st and 59th minutes. HCMC earned four points from the first two games, ranking second.
The four matches in Long An, Hanoi, Qui Nhon and Quang Nam were the most boring in the second round when the game between Dong Tam Long An Tiles ended goalless while the games between Hanoi and An Giang, Binh Dinh and Junior SHB Danang and Quang Nam and Can Tho ended goalless.
Lam Dong overcame Junior Hanoi 2-1 in Lam Dong Province.
