Vietnamese-American midfielder Lee Nguyen made his return to Vietnamese football on Sunday as he turned out for his Ho Chi Minh City FC debut. The Red Battleship saw off visiting Hong Linh Ha Tinh 2-0 at the Thong Nhat Stadium in their V.League 1 Round 2 action, with Vo Huy Toan and Dario Junior firing the goals that enabled Alexandre Polking’s men to bounce back from their Round 1 defeat one week ago.
Having previously played in Vietnam with both Hoang Anh Gia Lai and Becamex Binh Duong before making a name for himself at Major League Soccer over in the United States, 34-year old Lee made his return to his father’s homeland after being continuously linked with the ambitious Ho Chi Minh City in recent times. With Lee being expected to play a role as Ho Chi Minh City’s midfield general, his mandatory 2-week quarantine after his arrival from the USA meant that he sat out Ho Chi Minh City’s 1-0 opening day defeat away at SHB Da Nang, however once his quarantine ends Lee immediately went straight for the training ground.
Such was Lee’s enthusiasm, Ho Chi Minh City head coach Mano revealed that despite having only spent two days of training with the squad, Lee was more than willing to throw his hat into Mano’s starting lineup for Sunday’s match against Ha Tinh.
Both Ho Chi Minh City and Ha Tinh may have played out a goalless stalemate in the first half of their showdown, but the highlight of the first 45 was undoubtedly the red card received by Ha Tinh’s Nigerian midfielder Kelly Kester. Having already been booked in the 17th minute for a foul, Kelly fell into the Ho Chi Minh City penalty area during a Ha Tinh corner in the 36th minute. However, the referee felt that no contact was made towards Kelly during the corner and therefore he did not give a penalty kick to the away side. An infuriated Kelly remonstrated to the referee and his protests were rewarded with a second yellow and a dismissal from the referee.
Kelly’s red card disrupted Ha Tinh, who at that point had outplayed Ho Chi Minh City. Despite having Lee’s presence in the field, Mano’s men were quite tepid during the first half, allowing Ha Tinh to threaten Nguyen Thanh Thang’s goal several times with their dangerous counterattacks. However, Kelly’s absence forced Ha Tinh to drop their counterattacking style of play and opted for a more defensive stance.
With the numerical advantage in their favor, Ho Chi Minh City managed to take the lead in the 62nd minute. Lee played an instrumental role in this goal, as it was his corner that was improperly cleared away by the Ha Tinh defense that led to Huy Toan rifling in a long-ranged shot from the edge of the area that went past Ha Tinh goalkeeper Duong Quang Tuan. 1-0 to the hosts and with that Ho Chi Minh City’s authority over the tie was stamped as the winds were taken away from Ha Tinh’s sails.
Nine minutes after Huy Toan’s goal, Dario cemented the three points for the hosts with an incredible solo effort, weaving his way through five Ha Tinh players before Quang Tuan was once again beaten with a powerful shot.
Despite being two goals down, a beaten Ha Tinh refused to throw the towel just yet and managed to threaten Thanh Thang one last time late into the game, however Pham Van Long’s cross could only rattle the crossbar.
Elsewhere in Round 2, defending champions Viettel FC were forced into a goalless stalemate by hosts Dong A Thanh Hoa at the Thanh Hoa Stadium, while a second half goal from Rafaelson ensured a 1-0 victory for SHB Da Nang away at Than Quang Ninh’s Cam Pha Stadium.