Baba scored, SLNA earned 1 point away at Dong Nai.

(Baonghean.vn) Foreign striker Baba scored his first goal in V.League 2015, but ultimately SLNA couldn't hold onto their lead against Dong Nai, a team desperate for points to avoid relegation.

Before the 16th round of the 2015 V.League, the Nghe An team was on a roll after a draw away against Binh Duong and a win at home against Dong Tam Long An, climbing to 4th place in the standings, while the home team Dong Nai was languishing at the bottom. Another defeat would likely jeopardize coach Tran Binh Su's position in the dugout.

Immediately after the opening whistle, the home team Dong Nai proactively launched attacks towards SLNA's goal. The defense of the Nghe An team, with the return of goalkeeper Nguyen Manh along with defenders Manh Hung and Que Ngoc Hai, successfully thwarted most of Dong Nai's attacks.

While the home team hadn't created any clear scoring opportunities towards Nguyen Manh's goal, in a lightning-fast attack, striker Baba scored the opening goal for SLNA in the 13th minute, much to the surprise of both the Dong Nai players and fans.

Foreign player Baba has scored his first goal for SLNA.

Having scored an early goal, SLNA played with even more enthusiasm, but, as in some previous matches, Phi Son, Dinh Bao, and Baba squandered opportunities to score and increase the lead.

Unable to score another goal, coach Quang Trường instructed his players to retreat to their own half to protect the score. Coach Trần Bình Sự's players, having nothing to lose, surged forward into SLNA's half in search of an equalizer. As a result, they scored in the 64th minute through striker Henry.

After a disappointing performance against Dong Tam Long An, Dinh Bao still failed to impress in this match.

From this point onwards, both teams played quite openly, but no further goals were scored. SLNA settled for a draw with the home team, Dong Nai.

With this result, SLNA remains in 4th place in the standings with 26 points after 16 rounds, while Dong Nai remains rooted at the bottom of the table with 10 points.

Nguyen Manh and his teammates were unable to maintain their lead from the first half.

In the match played at the same time, bầu Đức's "boys" lost 4-0 to Quảng Nam and faced a very high risk of relegation, having only earned 10 points after 16 rounds. Meanwhile, B. Bình Dương unexpectedly lost to K. Khánh Hòa, allowing the team from Thanh Hóa (who won 2-0 against Cần Thơ in this round) to take the top spot in the bảng.

Starting lineup for the Dong Nai-SLNA match:

Dong Nai: Thanh Diệp, Khánh Thành, Hồng Việt, Thế Hưng, Đức Nhân, Hữu Phát, Nsi, Văn Pho, Thành Trung, Henry, Tcheuko Minh.

SLNA:Nguyen Manh, Manh Hung, Ngoc Hai, Dinh Hoang, Hoang Thinh, Phi Son, Dinh Bao, Quang Tinh, Minh Duc, Ngoc Duc, Baba.

Duc Dung