League

Sa Pa
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) The audience thought a goal was coming when Nghiêm Ho got free with Hồ Liem in the 3rd minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Nguyễn Hoang charged in rather forcefully in the 5th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Nguyễn Hoang the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. Nguyễn Hoang kicked well hit freekick during the 5th minute of the match. Nghiêm Ho received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 7th minute. Hồ Liem tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Nguyễn Phuc sent away a hard shot on goal in the 10th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. Trần Van Quyen hit a great freekick 13 minutes into the match. Nghiêm Hos short, quick shot in the 18thth minute got Hồ Liem to make great effort and bar the ball away from getting in. The Whales's Phạm Nhật Minh played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Huỳnh Tinh in the 20th minute of play. In the 26th minute, Huỳnh Tinh got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. The audience was convinced that Nguyễn Thuyet's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Hồ Liem was relentless in the 27th minute of the game. 32 minutes into the game, Hue's Nguyễn Hoang nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Phạm Nhật Minh made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 0-1. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Lê Hoang during the 35th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. Hồ Liem made an important save on a dangerous shot by Nghiêm Ho in the 37th minute. During the 37th minute of the match Lê Hoang completely mistimed his tackle and brought down his opponent. The referee gave Lê Hoang a yellow card, his second in the match, which meant he could no longer take part in the game. In the 38th minute, Lê Hoang hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. If Nguyễn Thuyet had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 39th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Nguyễn Phuc hit a great freekick 40 minutes into the match. The supporters of Hue booed when The Whales was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 46 match minutes in a wonderful position. Lê Van Tai Em didn't get a good kick on the ball. After some fancy dribbling in the 47th minute, Huỳnh Tinh managed to get in a good position for a shot. Hue's supporters rose to their feet, but Huỳnh Tinh was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Phạm Nhật Minh breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Disappointed in the 0-1 score, the home team went to the dressing room to adjust tactics for the second half.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Nguyễn Thuyet to make the kick off. Nguyễn Phuc's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Phạm Nhật Minh read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 51st minute of play. Hồ Liem came out of the goal in the 53rd minute to try and stop a shot by The Whales's Nghiêm Ho. But to his dismay, Nghiêm Ho quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 1-1. Phạm Nhật Minh didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Huỳnh Tinh went, in the 62nd minute, to the upper right corner, 2-2 was the resulting score. After having played for 65 minutes, Huỳnh Tinh managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Hue's supporters crossed their fingers, but Huỳnh Tinh was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. The audience thought a goal was coming when Huỳnh Tinh got free with Phạm Nhật Minh in the 68th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. In the 68th match minute, The Whales was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Phạm Loc to maneuver through the defense. A hard shot 73 in the game by Huỳnh Tinh from a close distance when the talented Phạm Nhật Minh managed to make a qualified save. The Whales's players were relieved. After a defensive mix-up in Hue's zone, Nghiêm Ho stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Hồ Liem came out of the goal and Nghiêm Ho tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Nguyễn Hoang could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 85th minute of the match, but Phạm Nhật Minh made a huge save. Nghiêm Ho fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 86th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Hồ Liem having to interfere. 93 minutes into the match, Nghiêm Ho notched a goal, 3-2, to the right of Hue's Hồ Liem. Hồ Liem was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. For all the effort they put into the match, the Hue players left disappointed. They had fought hard, but couldn't break down the home team's defense. The match ended in a win for The Whales.