The 2021 V.League 1 season returns with a bang on Saturday after a lengthy period of hiatus due to both the Lunar New Year and outbreaks of COVID-19 cases within Vietnam. With only two Round 3 matches being played out prior to the hiatus – Dong A Thanh Hoa’s 3-0 home win over Duoc Nam Ha Nam Dinh and Sai Gon FC’s 1-0 win at home over Song Lam Nghe An – the league returns with the remainder of the Round 3 matches yet to be played. Headlining the restart is the Northern Vietnam Derby between arch-rivals Hai Phong FC and Hanoi FC at the former’s Lach Tray Stadium, with the latter seeking to win their first game of the season after two consecutive losses. And a win is exactly what Chu Dinh Nghiem’s men got – a confident performance from the men in purple gave them a 2-0 win over their rivals, a result that would hopefully jumpstart Hanoi’s season.
Heading into Saturday’s derby, Hanoi were in dire straits – prior to the league’s hiatus, the capital side had lost both of their opening games of the season, a comprehensive 3-0 beatdown away at Nam Dinh and a 2-1 defeat away at Becamex Binh Duong. Additionally, star man Nguyen Quang Hai is out of contention for the derby due to injury.
Stacking the odds even more against Hanoi’s favor is the fact that Hai Phong are undefeated in their first two games in the season, the Red Tide even have a 100% percent record in the league coming into Saturday’s showdown! Pham Anh Tuan’s men had beaten defending champions Viettel FC 1-0 in Round 1 and edged out Nam Dinh 3-2 in Round 2. Additionally, Hai Phong have an excellent record against Hanoi at the Lach Tray in recent years. Hanoi could only win once in their previous four visits to the port city, although the last time they went to the Lach Tray in 2019, the Capital Team managed to work out a 2-1 victory there.
Despite the odds being stacked against Hanoi, it seems that the lengthy Lunar New Year break gave Dinh Nghiem the opportunity to regroup his men, rethink his tactics, revitalize his team’s morale, and reenergize his team’s legs, as the Hanoi FC that took the field at the Lach Tray Stadium on Saturday was the same Hanoi FC of old, a swashbuckling unit that struck dread in the hearts of those who went up against the Capital Team. Gone were the inconsistent men in purple that started the season, as the old Hanoi has made their triumphant return, hopefully a return that will stick until the end of the season.
The refreshed Hanoi threatened Hai Phong as early as the 12th minute, with Brazilian midfielder Geovane performing a superb individual run all the way into the Hai Phong defense. The former Sai Gon FC men easily muscled his way into the opposition’s penalty box as he shrugged off Hai Phong defenders left, right, and center, before launching a powerful shot that sadly went skywards, with Hai Phong goalkeeper Nguyen Van Toan breathing a sigh of relief.
Hanoi had another rip in the 22nd minute, with Do Hung Dung angling a perfect cross from the right flank into the Hai Phong penalty box. Bruno Cantanhede tried to plant a header past Van Toan, however the goalkeeper was quick with his reflexes and the ball soon found itself in the 21-year old’s safe hands.
Unwilling to sit in the backseat for far too long, Hai Phong soon took the attacking initiative as well, with Jermie Lynch attempting to force his way into the Hanoi penalty area in the 24th minute. Bui Hoang Viet Anh wouldn’t have any of it though and the defender soon challenged Lynch for the ball. Unfortunately for Viet Anh – much to the delight of anyone in Hai Phong’s colors – the 22-year old timed his challenge late and Lynch was fouled within the area, which could only mean one thing.
Penalty for Hai Phong.
Lynch himself took the task of executing the spot kick, facing-off against experienced goalkeeper Bui Tan Truong in the Hanoi goal. The Jamaican took aim and rifled in his penalty, however Tan Truong managed to muster all of his goalkeeping experience at the right moment and denied Lynch superbly, diving towards the right direction and using his left palm to deflect the ball away as far as possible.
From there on it’s all Hanoi and the men in purple managed to predictably take the lead in the 41st minute. Ngan Van Dai, filling in the boots of Quang Hai, managed to head the ball towards Van Toan, who deflected the incoming threat away. However, Hung Dung had positioned himself in the right place at the right time and plundered the rebound past Van Toan and into the Hai Phong goal, effectively giving Hanoi the advantage.
Coming into the second stanza, Hanoi intensified their pressure on Hai Phong, ensuring that the hosts’ Jamaican strike-force – Lynch and Diego Fagan – would see little of the ball. The away side limited the hosts to a few counterattacking opportunities, each of them easily thwarted away by Hanoi’s defense.
The Capital Side doubled their lead – and ensured victory – in the 72nd minute. Le Van Xuan crossed the ball from the left flank, which went straight towards Van Dai. Proving himself to be a reliable deputy for Quang Hai, Van Dai struck the ball with his first touch, leaving Van Toan utterly beaten and Hanoi completely in cruise control of the game.
No further goals were scored throughout the reminder of the game, thus allowing Hanoi to leave Hai Phong with all three points in the bag. The men in purple’s first league win of the season meant that they went up to 11th place in the league table, while Hai Phong slipped down to 4th place.
Saturday’s other V.League 1 action saw SHB Da Nang edging out Hong Linh Ha Tinh 1-0 at the Hoa Xuan Stadium, thanks to a solitary goal from new signing Papa Ibou Kebe who replaced Hedipo during the league’s hiatus. The win took Da Nang to the top of the V.League 1 table, with the men in orange having won all 3 of their matches so far.
Round 3 continues on Sunday with Hoang Anh Gia Lai hosting Topenland Binh Dinh at the Pleiku Stadium, Than Quang Ninh clashing with Ho Chi Minh City FC at the Cam Pha Stadium, and Binh Duong paying Viettel a visit at the Hang Day Stadium.