Pham Xuan Manh scored, SLNA sank HAGL at "Thanh Vinh Fire Pan"

It took only 13 minutes after the famous referee blew the whistle to open the match, SLNA scored the opening goal.

In a quick counter-attack, Van Duc had a smart pass that tore apart the HAGL defense, helping Olaha run down to face goalkeeper Van Truong. The Nigerian striker's delicate finish put SLNA ahead with a score of 1 - 0. This was Olaha's 7th goal for the Nghe team in this year's V.League.

HAGL starting lineup. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Having conceded an early goal, the white team immediately pushed up their formation in search of an equalizer. Facing a tightly organized defense, HAGL's attacks were easily broken down.

Meanwhile, despite giving up the game to the opponent, Khac Ngoc and his teammates still created many dangerous counter-attack situations.

SLNA's starting lineup. Photo: Thanh Cuong

In the 35th minute, Olaha almost scored a second time when his shot hit the post of goalkeeper Van Truong's goal.

In the final minutes of the first half, HAGL had more attacks towards the home team's goal, but all stopped at a dangerous level.

In the 45 + 2 minute, SLNA scored a goal to increase the score to 2 – 0. From Khac Ngoc's corner kick, defender Xuan Manh had an accurate header that hit the HAGL net. The two teams went to the break with a 2 – 0 victory in favor of the home team.

Nghe An fans celebrated the opening goal early. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Entering the second half, coach Duong Minh Ninh decided to withdraw Thanh Hau to make way for foreign player Osmar. That decision immediately took effect, with captain Cong Phuong narrowing the score to 1-2, after a cross from Van Toan.

Thanks to the goal of “Vietnamese Messi”, the fighting spirit of HAGL players was much higher. The mountain town team continuously put pressure on SLNA’s field thanks to the enthusiasm of Van Thanh, Van Toan, Cong Phuong or Minh Vuong…

Defender Pham Xuan Manh celebrates his goal against HAGL. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Meanwhile, the home team still performed well with the tight defense and quick counterattack strategy proposed by the SLNA coaching staff. The match was quite exciting with "tit for tat" situations from both teams.

In the 68th minute, taking advantage of a careless move by defender A Hoang of HAGL, midfielder Xuan Toan dribbled past goalkeeper Van Truong, raising the score to 3-1 for the Nghe An team.

At this point, the away team's fighting spirit had significantly decreased, and their physical strength was no longer guaranteed. HAGL had to accept that the home team could freely bombard goalkeeper Van Truong's goal. If he had been luckier, midfielder Khac Ngoc would have scored a goal, after his long-range shot hit the crossbar in the 75th minute.

In the remaining minutes of the match, both teams could not successfully take advantage of the opportunities created. In the end, SLNA defeated HAGL with a score of 3 – 1.

Defender Pham Xuan Manh's powerful goal. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Winning 3 points against HAGL, the Nghe An team continued to "breathe hot" on the teams above. With this victory, coach Nguyen Duc Thang and his team equaled Long An's record of 8 consecutive wins in 2005. At the same time, they continued to chase a position in the Top 3 of the V.League rankings.

Defeating HAGL, SLNA re-established a V.League record that had been "dormant" for nearly 15 years. At the same time, they took the 3rd place in the V.League rankings from FLC Thanh Hoa because in the next match, Hanoi came from behind to defeat the Thanh team with a score of 3-2.

LINEUP

SLNA: Vu Hai, Ngoc Hai, Dinh Hoang, Van Khanh, Xuan Manh, Van Binh, Khac Ngoc, Xuan Toan, Van Duc, Olaha, Lynch.

HAGL: Van Truong, Viet Hung, A San, Van Son, A Hoang, Van Thanh, Minh Vuong, Thanh Hau, Van Toan, Cong Phuong, Zeba Josip.

SLNA entered the Top 3 on the V.League 2018 rankings.