Tran Tien
Football Tribe Vietnam
Binh Duong and Hanoi kept their hopes on qualification to the knockout stage of AFC Cup alive with big wins in the matchday 5 of the group stage.
At the Phnom Penh Olympic stadium, Hanoi needed over 30 minutes to find the Nagaworld’s net when Pape Omar Faye received the ball from Oloya Moses to score the opening goal.
Three minutes before halftime, Hanoi doubled their advantage after Ganiyu Oseni completed the nice pass from Quang Hai.
In the second half, Nagaworld reduced the deficit in the 63rd minute when Anderson Zogbe’s shot deflected off Nhim Sovannara to find the back of Hanoi’s net.
But that all the hosts had to offer, and the Vietnamese side responded by kicking into gear. Hanoi scored another three goals from Van Kien, Samson and Oseni to complete the 5-1 rout.
With that win, Hanoi now have 10 points and stand at second in Group F, three points behind the leader Tampines Rovers. The two teams will face off in the last matchday at Hang Day Stadium to decide who is the winner of group F.
Elsewhere, at the Go Dau stadium, Becamex Binh Duong came close to qualifying for the next round of the AFC Cup as they beat Persija Jakarta 3-1. The Vietnamese side opened the scored in the 38th minute when Nguyen Anh Duc rifled a shot to past Andritany Ardhiyasa.
Right before the halftime, the hosts double their lead with the nice goal from To Van Vu.
Just six minutes after the restart, the contest was effectively over, as substitute Wander Luiz took advantage of a major mistake from the visitor’s defense to make it 3-0.
Persija did manage to pull one back in the 71st minute when Bruno Matos broke through the middle to get in behind the opposition defense before firing past Bui Tan Truong at his near post. However, it proved to be little more than a consolation for the Indonesian champions.
With their win confirmed, Becamex Binh Duong can now go through to ASEAN Zone semi-finals as the best runner-up if they beat the already qualified team Ceres Negros on the last matchday.