5 best confrontations between Song Lam Nghe An and Hoang Anh Gia Lai

1. Song Lam Nghe An 1-0 Hoang Anh Gia Lai(March 2004)

The match in round 9 of V.League 2004 took place at Vinh Stadium in the context of Hoang Anh Gia Lai firmly holding the top position after 8 unbeaten matches (7 wins, 1 draw). Home teamLam River Nghe Andetermined to win to shorten the gap with their opponents on the rankings. And right in the 2nd minute, the packed stands of Vinh Stadium had a chance to celebrate when the prodigy Pham Van Quyen dribbled past 3 Hoang Anh Gia Lai players and then kicked the ball into the far corner, defeating goalkeeper Van Hanh - this was also the only goal of this match. Quyen's goal reminded of the masterpiece against Thailand at the 2003 SEA Games.

Van Quyen overshadowed Kiatisuk in Song Lam Nghe An's 1-0 win at V.League 2004. Photo courtesy

Although Hoang Anh Gia Lai lost this match, the team from the Mountain City still ended the season as champions with 46 points. Striker Kiatisuk was voted the best player of the tournament.

2. Hoang Anh Gia Lai 3-2 Song Lam Nghe An(March 2008)

This was the period when both teams fell behind Dong Tam Long An Brick and Becamex Binh Duong. However, the matches between the two teams still attracted a large number of spectators, as well as the media. In the 10th round of V.League 2008, at home, Hoang Anh Gia Lai had a spectacular comeback against Song Lam Nghe An. The Nghe team took the lead with a score of 2-0 after goals from Benjamin (own goal in the 39th minute) and Van Binh in the 60th minute. However, Agostinho opened the comeback in the 62nd minute, before a double within 3 minutes of striker Tang Tuan (minute 83, minute 86) drowned the away team from Nghe An. This was one of the most emotional matches between the two teams.

At the end of the 2008 V.League season, Hoang Anh Gia Lai ranked 7th, while Song Lam Nghe An ranked only 9th on the rankings.

3. Song Lam Nghe An 2-2 Hoang Anh Gia Lai(June 2011)

The match in round 18 of V.League 2011 was a match in which the away team Hoang Anh Gia Lai played very well at Vinh Stadium. Right from the start of the match, the away team attacked first and scored the opening goal by Evaldo after an accurate free kick by defender Phung Van Nhien. However, the home team was lucky to have 2 goals to take the lead by striker Diogo Fagan and 1 own goal by goalkeeper Tuan Manh. It was thought that the victory would stay at Vinh Stadium, but the controversial penalty by referee Vo Minh Tri helped Hoang Anh Gia Lai get 1 point to go home. The scorer from the penalty spot was still striker Evaldo.

Song Lam Nghe An played very successfully and won the 2011 V.League championship. Photo courtesy

However, at the end of the season, Song Lam Nghe An was still the champion with 49 points, Hoang Anh Gia Lai was only ranked 9th with 32 points.

4. Song Lam Nghe An 3-1 Hoang Anh Gia Lai(July 2018)

This is the confrontation of the heroes of Thuong Chau 2018. On the side of Song Lam Nghe An are Phan Van Duc and Pham Xuan Manh. On the side of Hoang Anh Gia Lai are Cong Phuong, Van Toan, Xuan Truong... Right in the 13th minute, Van Duc had a favorable pass for Olaha to run down and score the opening goal. In the last minute of the first half, it was Xuan Manh's turn to play the hero when he jumped high to head the ball to raise the score to 2-0. Although at the beginning of the second half, striker Cong Phuong scored a goal for Hoang Anh Gia Lai, defender A Hoang's mistake created an opportunity for midfielder Xuan Toan on the side of Song Lam Nghe An to set the score at 3-1. This victory helped Song Lam Nghe An increase their winning streak to 8, equaling the record of Dong Tam Long An Club.

Song Lam Nghe An won 3-1 against Hoang Anh Gia Lai in round 20 of V.League 2018. Photo courtesy

At the end of the 2018 V.League season, Song Lam Nghe An ranked 4th, while Hoang Anh Gia Lai ranked 10th overall.

5. Hoang Anh Gia Lai 3-2 Song Lam Nghe An(July 2019)

Exactly one year after the 3-1 loss,Hoang Anh Gia Laihad the opportunity to meet Song Lam Nghe An again at Pleiku home ground. Taking advantage of the home field, Hoang Anh Gia Lai players quickly scored the opening goal from striker Van Toan in the 22nd minute after a combination with Minh Vuong. In the 39th minute, midfielder Khac Ngoc scored the equalizer after a beautiful free kick. But the joy of Nghe An players was soon extinguished when Tuan Anh made a super goal to raise the score to 2-1 in the 40th minute.

At V.League 2019, Hoang Anh Gia Lai won 3-2 against Song Lam Nghe An at home ground Pleiku. Photo courtesy

In the second half, the away team Song Lam Nghe An tried to push forward to find an equalizer, however, delicious opportunities passed through the visitors' shoes one after another. While still pushing forward, the Nghe team had to accept the third goal after Minh Vuong broke the offside trap, ran down to face goalkeeper Nguyen Manh, and finished neatly. Two minutes later, Ho Tuan Tai had a dangerous cross, the ball bounced off the Hoang Anh Gia Lai defenders and went into the net, leaving goalkeeper Sietsma helpless. In the final minutes of the match, Song Lam Nghe An continuously pressured the home team's players, unfortunately, no more goals were scored, 3-2 was the final score of the match.

At the end of the season, both Song Lam Nghe An and Hoang Anh Gia Lai got 35 points and shared the 7th and 8th positions on the V.League 2019 rankings.