League

Thai Binh
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Đào Duc kicked off to start the match. With a little luck, Mui Ne's Ngô Thien got control of the ball when Nguyễn Nga tried to sneak it across the goal line. 7 minutes into the match, Mui Ne's Đào Duc sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Nguyễn Quang Thanh narrowly saved just below the crossbar. Phạm Van Quyen received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 10th minute. Nguyễn Quang Thanh tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Nguyễn Quang Thanh made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Võ Bien in the 13th minute of play. Nguyễn Quang Thanh took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Phạm Van Quyen, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After some fancy dribbling in the 18th minute, Nguyễn Thien managed to get in a good position for a shot. Vinh Long's supporters rose to their feet, but Nguyễn Thien was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Ngô Thien breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. 24 minutes into the match, Vinh Long's Nguyễn Thien sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Ngô Thien narrowly saved just below the crossbar. Ngô Thien didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Nguyễn Nga went, in the 25th minute, to the upper right corner, 1-0 was the resulting score. After 37 minutes of play, Mui Ne's Đào Duc made it 1-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Nguyễn Quang Thanh was left in no man's land by his defense there! 41 minutes into the match, Vinh Long's goal looked a bit too open when Đào Duc came free, but Nguyễn Quang Thanh reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Lê Tu charged in rather forcefully in the 46th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Lê Tu the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Nguyễn Thien to make the kick off. If Đào Duc had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 53rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Ngô Thien showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Nguyễn Nga, who was totally free with the ball in the 56th minute. Đào Duc recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 60th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Nguyễn Nga blasted a shot towards the goal in the 61st minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Ngô Thien having to make a save. The supporters of Vinh Long booed when Mui Ne was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 62 match minutes in a wonderful position. Lê Tu didn't get a good kick on the ball. A collision led to Mui Ne getting a freekick after 78 minutes play. Nguyễn Bien hit a great ball. After some fancy dribbling in the 85th minute, Nguyễn Thien managed to get in a good position for a shot. Vinh Long's supporters rose to their feet, but Nguyễn Thien was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Ngô Thien breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. The referee blew the whistle for a penalty in the 86th minute of the game. One of Vinh Long:s players had nearly got his shirt torn off by an opponent while getting free in front of Mui Ne:s goal. In a very dangerous position, a player in Vinh Long fell when an opponent tried to get the ball from him in the 96th minute. Penalty! The Mui Ne supporters could be heard counting down the last seconds of the match. They errupted in celebration when the whistle blew, knowing Mui Ne would go home with victory in their luggage after a match that easily could have ended differently.