League Play-Off

Nam Dinh
Spectators: 36 (Terracing: 28, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Nam Dinh's Nguyễn Tuan started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. Nguyễn Duc received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 2nd minute. Phan Hong Minh tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. 5 minutes into the game, Nguyễn Chi cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-1. Phan Hong Minh was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. In the 10th minute Nguyễn Tuan shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Lưu Thuyet saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. 11 minutes into the game, Sài Gòn's Nguyễn Chi nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Phan Hong Minh made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 0-2. In the 18th minute of the match, Nguyễn Tuan tried to roll the ball into the goal by the right post, but Lưu Thuyet saw his intentions and got control of the ball before it passed the line. Nguyễn Chi sent away a hard shot on goal in the 25th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. Phan Hong Minh came out of the goal in the 25th minute to try and stop a shot by Sài Gòn's Nguyễn Chi. But to his dismay, Nguyễn Chi quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 0-3. The supporters of Nam Dinh booed when Sài Gòn was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 28 match minutes in a wonderful position. Nguyễn Duc didn't get a good kick on the ball. Phan Hong Minh took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Nguyễn Chi, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. If Nguyễn Duc had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 31st minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 32nd minute, Nguyễn Chi 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. After some careless play in the Nam Dinh defense, Nguyễn Lan kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Phan Hong Minh. The Nam Dinh fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Phan Hong Minh should have stopped the shot. Nguyễn Lan fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 36th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Phan Hong Minh having to interfere. A collision led to Nam Dinh getting a freekick after 42 minutes play. Trần Tuan Hoang hit a great ball. In the 43rd minute Nguyễn Chi shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Phan Hong Minh saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. 47 minutes into the match, Nguyễn Chi had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Phan Hong Minh. Nam Dinh's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Nguyễn Chi was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-5. After the first half Sài Gòn were leading 0-5. They had played with great self confidence throughout the first half and fully deserved their lead.

53 minutes into the game, Lê Chung threw the ball into play from the sideline. Sài Gòn's Huỳnh Phuc quickly snatched the ball and retained possesion. Phan Hong Minh stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Nguyễn Chi's shot from short distance in the 54th minute. When Nguyễn Chi came up free with the goalie in the 56th minute, the Sài Gòn fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Nguyễn Chi couldn't finish the play. Nguyễn Chi fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 58th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Phan Hong Minh having to interfere. Lưu Thuyet showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Nguyễn Tuan in the 62nd minute of the match. 65 minutes into the game, Sài Gòn's Nguyễn Lan nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Phan Hong Minh made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 0-6. When Sài Gòn's Nguyễn Chi in the 72nd minute got a chance for a shot 72nd didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Nam Dinh's goalie prevented a goal. When Vũ Tấn Dũng came up free with the goalie in the 73rd minute, the Sài Gòn fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Vũ Tấn Dũng couldn't finish the play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Nguyễn Chi in the 78th minute of play forced Nam Dinh's goalkeeper Phan Hong Minh to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Phan Hong Minh showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Nguyễn Duc, who was totally free with the ball in the 80th minute. When the match had gone on for 83 minutes, Nguyễn Chi took a quick shot and it went in 0-7 without a chance for Phan Hong Minh to make any attempt to save it. In the 87th minute of the match Vũ Duc shot from a long distance. The ball could have gone into the goal to the right of the goalkeeper, but Lưu Thuyet showed his good shape when he easily got hold of the ball. 89 minutes in the game Vũ Duc did a throw-in, and the ball was quickly in game thanks to Hồ Mai. Phan Hong Minh made an important save on a dangerous shot by Nguyễn Chi in the 91st minute. The audience was convinced that Nguyễn Chi's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Phan Hong Minh was relentless in the 92nd minute of the game. In the 94th minute, Sài Gòn's Nguyễn Chi ran free of his marker and smoothly shot the ball into the goal behind Phan Hong Minh. Phan Hong Minh yelled at his defense, as they had left him out to dry. 0-8. Sài Gòn's fans were overjoyed with their teams well-earned victory and stayed in the stadium long after the final whistle to celebrate the win.