League Play-Off

Hung Yen
Spectators: 35 (Terracing: 27, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The mood of the audience was pleasant when Phạm Ritchell made the kick off which started today's match. Mai Phu made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Nguyễn Dinh in the 2nd minute of play. 8 minutes into the match, Trần Huy had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Nguyễn Thien. Manchester United VN's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Trần Huy was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-1. In the 11th minute, Nguyễn Thanh Bình left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Manchester United VN fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-1. Nguyễn Thanh Bình sent away a hard shot on goal in the 15th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. A collision led to Bac Kan getting a freekick after 16 minutes play. Hoàng Ritchell hit a great ball. Nguyễn Thanh Bình fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 18th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Mai Phu having to interfere. After 22 played minutes Bac Kan got a freekick which was hit by Phạm Ritchell. In the 25th minute Phạm Ritchell shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Nguyễn Thien saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Nguyễn Thanh Bình sent away a hard shot on goal in the 28th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After some fancy dribbling in the 32nd minute, Nguyễn Dinh managed to get in a good position for a shot. Manchester United VN's supporters rose to their feet, but Nguyễn Dinh was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Mai Phu breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Nguyễn Thanh Bình sent away a hard shot on goal in the 33rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After a defensive mix-up in Bac Kan's zone, Nguyễn Dinh stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Mai Phu came out of the goal and Nguyễn Dinh tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. When Nguyễn Thanh Bình came up free with the goalie in the 39th minute, the Manchester United VN 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 Thanh Bình couldn't finish the play. Nguyễn Thien made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Phạm Ritchell in the 45th minute of play. The referee blew the whistle for a penalty in the 46th minute of the game. One of Bac Kan:s players had nearly got his shirt torn off by an opponent while getting free in front of Manchester United VN:s goal. Đoàn Khoi placed the ball on the penalty spot and got himself ready to shoot. Post out!

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Nguyễn Dinh was the one to do the kick off. In the 55th minute the ball was on its way in behind Bac Kan's goalkeeper Mai Phu, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. 62 minutes into the match, Trần Huy dribbled the ball past the defender and swiftly kicked the ball to the left of Nguyễn Thien, 1-2. 66 minutes into the match, Bac Kan's Trần Huy sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Nguyễn Thien narrowly saved just below the crossbar. Nguyễn Thien made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Phạm Ritchell in the 67th minute of play. With a little luck, Manchester United VN's Nguyễn Thien got control of the ball when Trần Huy tried to sneak it across the goal line. After some fancy dribbling in the 84th minute, Nguyễn Thanh Bình managed to get in a good position for a shot. Manchester United VN's supporters rose to their feet, but Nguyễn Thanh Bình was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Mai Phu breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Nguyễn Thien showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Phạm Ritchell in the 89th minute of the match. Mai Phu made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Nguyễn Dinh in the 90th minute of play. If Nguyễn Nguyet had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 94th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. When the match had gone on for 96 minutes, Nguyễn Dinh put it in 2-2 from a short distance just to the right of Mai Phu. Both teams had looked equal from kick-off, and no-one was surprised when the match finally ended in a draw.