League

Nam Dinh
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Nguyễn Tuan got the match started through his kick off. Lê Chung took a chance and fired a shot far from the goal in the 4th minute, but it turned out to be a dangerous situation for Phan Loc. Trang Bang's goalkeeper really had to stretch himself to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. If Phan Phuong had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 7th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. A collision led to Trang Bang getting a freekick after 10 minutes play. Lê Hoa hit a great ball. Vũ Duc, 11 minutes into the match, dribbled the ball up the side of the field and decided to take a long shot at the goal. Unfortunately, the ball was poorly hit and landed closer to the corner than to the goal. An unexpectedly hard shot by Nguyễn Tuan in the 12th minute of play forced Trang Bang's goalkeeper Phan Loc to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. A collision led to Trang Bang getting a freekick after 15 minutes play. Liễu Nga hit a great ball. Nguyễn Tuan sent away a hard shot on goal in the 17th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Nguyễn Tuan received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 20th minute. Phan Loc tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Phan Loc took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Nguyễn Tuan, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Nguyễn Dong kicked well hit freekick during the 27th minute of the match. Phan Loc made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Nguyễn Tuan in the 37th minute of play. Trần Tuan Hoang charged in rather forcefully in the 39th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Trần Tuan Hoang the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. A collision led to Nam Dinh getting a freekick after 39 minutes play. Trần Tuan Hoang hit a great ball. The audience was convinced that Trần Tuan's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Phan Hong Minh was relentless in the 40th minute of the game. Phan Hong Minh made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Phan Phuong in the 43rd minute of play. Trần Tuan sent away a hard shot on goal in the 45th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After a rather tough play, Nam Dinh's Nguyễn Hieu got a free kick in the 46th minute. Phan Hong Minh took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Phan Phuong, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 0-1 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Phan Phuong was the one to do the kick off. In the 54th minute the ball was on its way in behind Trang Bang's goalkeeper Phan Loc, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. 56 minutes into the game, Nguyễn Tuan cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 1-1. Phan Loc was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. The supporters of Nam Dinh booed when Trang Bang was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 60 match minutes in a wonderful position. Lê Hoa didn't get a good kick on the ball. 61 minutes into the match, Nam Dinh's Vũ Duc broke free and took a long shot that unfortunately flew wide. A fine initiative that could have resulted in a goal. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Nguyễn Tuan in the 68th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Phan Loc prevented the ball from getting in the gole. After some careless play in the Trang Bang defense, Nguyễn Tuan kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Phan Loc. The Trang Bang fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Phan Loc should have stopped the shot. Lê Cuc sent away a hard shot on goal in the 76th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. An unexpectedly hard shot by Lê Cuc in the 79th minute of play forced Trang Bang's goalkeeper Phan Loc to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. When Lê Cuc came up free with the goalie in the 82nd minute, the Nam Dinh 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 Lê Cuc couldn't finish the play. In the 84th minute, Nguyễn Tuan made a precise shot to the right of Phan Loc. Trang Bang's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 3-1. Phan Phuong blasted a shot towards the goal in the 94th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Phan Hong Minh having to make a save. Trần Tuan received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 98th minute. Phan Hong Minh tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Trang Bang's players left the field with heads hung low after losing a match that had been finely balanced throughout.