A day of draws in V-League 2016

All three matches in the third round this afternoon, March 6, ended in a draw. Long An - Binh Duong and Hanoi T&T - Hanoi both had a 1-1 draw, while HAGL - Quang Ninh drew goalless.

This is in the third round, but in fact, this is only the second match of defending champion Binh Duong in this year's Toyota V-League. The team from the land of Thu was busy playing in the group stage of the AFC Champions League. In the first round, coach Nguyen Thanh Son and his team beat Can Tho 2-0 at home.

With the goal of earning all three points to stay close to the leading teams, Binh Duong rushed to attack right after the opening whistle. However, they were doused with cold water in the 15th minute. Center back Franklin Anzite quickly tapped the ball from a cross from his teammate in a situation where goalkeeper Tan Truong missed, opening the score for Long An.

The determination of Long An (red shirt) prevented Binh Duong's strikers from scoring more than one goal in this match. Photo: Quang Liem.

With an early goal, the heavy mentality of the home players from the 0-5 loss to Hai Phong last week seemed to be lifted. They had minutes of playing evenly with the defending champions. However, Binh Duong also gradually regained control of the game thanks to a better midfield. In the 30th minute, the away team equalized. Xuan Thanh crossed the ball accurately for Trinh Quang Vinh to jump high and head the ball into the net of goalkeeper Quoc Cuong. Before the end of the first halfQuang Vinh passed the ball to Nsi Amogou to face Long An's goalkeeper but the Cameroon striker's shot went wide.

In the second half, Binh Duong still dominated. Quang Vinh continued to prove that he was the most dangerous player on the away team's side in this match, when he made a smart move to receive a long pass from Trong Huy in the 48th minute. However, his volley hit the crossbar.In the remaining minutes, Long An decided to give the midfield area to Binh Duong, retreating to defend. Therefore, the away team could not penetrate the opponent's defense again despite having more possession of the ball.

In the same match, HAGL shared points with Quang Ninh after a 0-0 draw.The second round defeat against Da Nang not only frustrated HAGL, the stadium was fined, the leaders were warned, but also caused the mountain town team to lose veteran center back Duong Van Pho due to injury. Another center back of theirs, Dong Trieu, could not play for the same reason. Coach Nguyen Quoc Tuan was forced to use a makeshift lineup to face the mining team.

However, coach Nguyen Quoc Tuan's students still played well, controlled the ball and created more clear chances. However, they could not take advantage to score.

Technical Director Phan Thanh Hung and Coach Pham Nhu Thuan direct the match. Photo: Thuy Dung.

Quang Ninh today introduced its new Technical Director Phan Thanh Hung - who left Hanoi T&T after six years of association right before the start of this season. With his talent, experience and illustrious achievements, Mr. Hung essentially has full authority to make professional decisions, as Coach Pham Nhu Thuan is still young.

The mining team made a few changes in the way they played this match. The most notable of which was that striker Mac Hong Quan was moved back to play as a central midfielder. However, the changes only helped the away team play more solidly, not as suddenly and passionately as usual.

Meanwhile, HAGL remained loyal to their beautiful, flexible attacking style. Van Toan, their most dangerous striker, was being well taken care of. But that did not mean he was harmless. In the third minute, he coordinated with Van Thanh to shoot wide of the Quang Ninh goal. In the middle of the first half, Van Toan also exchanged passes with his teammates to help Van Thanh and Minh Vuong shoot over the crossbar.In the 76th minute, he fired a direct shot from outside the penalty area, forcing goalkeeper Tuan Linh to push the ball over the bar.

Van Toan (white shirt) was blocked by Quang Ninh's defense with fierce play. Photo: Thuy Dung.

“The draw is acceptable. However, I feel a bit regretful because I had the chance but could not decide the match,” said coach Nguyen Quoc Tuan after the match. “After the first three matches of the V-League, we saw that the way we played and the maturity of the players were okay.”

Coach Pham Nhu Thuan of the away team was also satisfied with the point. “This was a good match, it's just a pity that there were no goals. I'm not surprised by the progress of the HAGL players compared to last season. And they will improve even more when they have more practice,” said Mr. Thuan. “Mr. Phan Thanh Hung's experience in managing the team is what we need, it will help a lot, we will definitely coordinate together to come up with the best solution for the team.”

In the remaining match today, Hanoi T&T and Hanoi drew 1-1. The match between Thanh Hoa and Dong Thap was postponed due to security reasons.

According to VNE