Hoang Anh Gia Lai have barged their way to the top of the 2021 V.League 1 table after their brilliant performance in Wednesday’s Round 5 action. Visiting the Hang Day Stadium in Hanoi to take on defending champions Viettel FC, Kiatisuk Senamuang’s HAGL managed to effectively destroy the hosts 3-0 thanks to an explosive second half performance that saw prodigy Nguyen Cong Phuong scoring his first HAGL goal of the 2021 season and another HAGL academy graduate in Vu Van Thanh bagging himself a brace.
Having failed to win in any of their three visits to the Hang Day in the 2020 season as well as having an awful away record throughout the same season that crept its way into this season, Kiatisuk decided to approach Viettel with caution, placing Cong Phuong in the bench and relying on naturalized Nigerian-born striker Nguyen Trung Dai Duong as the main target man. Viettel head coach Truong Viet Hoang also came to the match with a cautious mentality – the absence of the creative spark that is Ho Khac Ngoc means that Viet Hoang set up his team in a rather defensive manner, relying on their familiarity with the Hang Day pitch to dictate how the game would go.
After a goalless first half that saw Nguyen Van Toan attempting to give HAGL the early lead and the likes of Duong Van Hao and Jahongir Abdumuminov threatening Huynh Tuan Linh in the HAGL goal, Kiatisuk decided to introduce his secret weapon in the 53rd minute, with Cong Phuong being thrown into the mix replacing Dai Duong. Three minutes later, said secret weapon managed to draw first blood for HAGL – Van Toan passed a short ball from the right flank towards Cong Phuong, and the HAGL number 10 danced his way through a number of Viettel defenders before suddenly taking a curling shot from the edge of the Viettel penalty area. The ball flew past the Viettel defenders surrounding Cong Phuong before suddenly curving towards the bottom left corner, with Viettel goalkeeper Tran Nguyen Manh reacting a second too late as the ball went past him. 1-0 HAGL and Viettel were left utterly stunned by Cong Phuong’s effort.
Before Viet Hoang could bring on his own secret weapons in Vu Minh Tuan, Nguyen Trong Dai, and Nguyen Viet Phong to the pitch, HAGL delivered a double whammy in a span of 10 minutes that sucker punched the life out of the Red Tornado. In the 60th minute, three minutes after Cong Phuong’s opener, Washington Brandao managed to make his way into the Viettel area, finding Van Thanh hovering nearby. With Viettel players coming towards him from all angles, former Persela Lamongan and Petaling Jaya City man Brandao passed the ball quickly towards Van Thanh, who fired home with his first touch that left Nguyen Manh beaten for the second time.
Former Than Quang Ninh midfielder Minh Tuan was brought onto the pitch by Viet Hoang after Van Thanh’s goal, however before he could make any impact whatsoever Van Thanh made it 3-0 for HAGL in the 68th minute. With both Van Toan and Van Thanh making their way towards Nguyen Manh’s goal, Van Toan sprayed the ball towards the left as he approached the Viettel goal. Nguyen Manh immediately had his eyes on the ball and left his post, determined to reach the ball first before Van Thanh, however the HAGL defender managed to latch onto the ball first and bundled home HAGL’s third of the night, confirming that Coach Zico’s men would be going home to Pleiku with all three points.
The 3-0 win propelled HAGL to the top of the V.League 1 table, the first time that the Mountain Men had ended the round as league leaders since 2016. As for Viettel, defeat meant that they will be finishing Round 5 in 9th place.
Wednesday’s early matches saw Becamex Binh Duong edging out Sai Gon FC 1-0 at the Go Dau Stadium, while Hong Linh Ha Tinh managed to etch their first win of the season after beating Hai Phong FC 1-0 at the Ha Tinh Stadium. Last but not least, Quang Ninh managed to stun Dong A Thanh Hoa at the Cam Pha Stadium with a 2-0 win over their opponents.