HAGL suffered a crushing defeat away to bottom-placed Can Tho.

Can Tho drew and lost in the first six rounds, but played brilliantly in round 7 of the V-League 2015 this afternoon, February 7th, winning convincingly 3-1, with a hat-trick from Van Thang in the first 60 minutes.

Can Tho created several scoring opportunities and took a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute thanks to Van Thang's bicycle kick volley. However, the first half remained relatively balanced, as HAGL wasn't completely outplayed and only failed to equalize after Tuan Anh's shot was denied by the post.

Cong Phuong was lackluster in today's match. He still displayed some skillful moves, but failed to create any breakthroughs for HAGL. Photo: Duong Thu.

But in the second half, within the first 15 minutes, the young players from Pleiku quickly collapsed. Van Thang, playing as a midfielder, continued his scoring prowess by punishing HAGL's defensive errors, scoring two goals in quick succession between the 51st and 60th minutes, completing a hat-trick and effectively sealing the fate of the match.

HAGL's efforts and adjustments from the coaching staff only helped them play slightly better in the last 30 minutes, allowing them to score a consolation goal thanks to Hoang Thien - a player who came on as a substitute and was not part of the first batch of talented players from the HAGL Arsenal JMG Academy.

HAGL's biggest problem, as their previous defeats have shown, continues to lie in their monotonous playing style and the immaturity of their young players who are experiencing the V-League, one of the most demanding and competitive leagues, for the first time.

Coach Graechen still has his players approach matches with an attacking style, based on short- to medium-range passing combinations, focusing on the central area. This style of play had previously helped the young HAGL players make a strong impression when they were the core of the national U19 team and the HAGL U19 team won the international U21 tournament last year. However, in the V-League, opponents have studied this style of play very carefully and easily countered it, resulting in almost every match since the beginning of the 2015 season becoming a torture session for Cong Phuong, Xuan Truong, Tuan Anh and their teammates.

According to VNE