League

Bắc Ninh
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Nghiêm Cadeo kicked off to start the match. Nguyễn Loc took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Nguyễn Liem, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Nguyễn Loc showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Phan Quang Thanh, who was totally free with the ball in the 7th minute. In the 11th minute the ball was on its way in behind Lai Chau's goalkeeper Huỳnh Binh, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Nguyễn Liem sent away a hard shot on goal in the 12th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Trịnh Lien's late challenge caught a Lai Chau's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Trịnh Lien helped the player get up and apologised. In the 16th minute, Trịnh Lien hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. In the 17th minute, Phan Quang Thanh left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Lai Chau fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 0-1. An unexpectedly hard shot by Phan Quang Thanh in the 21st minute of play forced Bắc Ninh's goalkeeper Nguyễn Loc to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Nguyễn Loc stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Phan Quang Thanh's shot from short distance in the 25th minute. The audience thought a goal was coming when Hồ Lien got free with Huỳnh Binh in the 28th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Huỳnh Binh made a fantastic save in the 28th minute, when Hồ Lien sent off a good shot on target. Phan Quang Thanh received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 37th minute. Nguyễn Loc tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After 41 minutes, Nghiêm Cadeo mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Bắc Ninh and the Lai Chau players grew even worse after the yellow card. A collision led to Bắc Ninh getting a freekick after 41 minutes play. Nghiêm Cadeo hit a great ball. Phan Quang Thanh fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 47th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Nguyễn Loc having to interfere. The crowd was extremely unhappy with the home team's performance in the first half. They were losing 0-1.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Phan Quang Thanh to make the kick off. In the 52nd minute of the match, Phan Quang Thanh tried to roll the ball into the goal by the right post, but Nguyễn Loc saw his intentions and got control of the ball before it passed the line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Phan Quang Thanh in the 54th minute of play forced Bắc Ninh's goalkeeper Nguyễn Loc to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. If Hồ Lien had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 55th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. 57 minutes into the match, Lai Chau's goal looked a bit too open when Nghiêm Cadeo came free, but Huỳnh Binh reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Hồ Lien struck a weak shot in the 58th minute. Huỳnh Binh didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Bắc Ninh. Phan Quang Thanh sent away a hard shot on goal in the 60th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. The audience was convinced that Phan Quang Thanh's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Nguyễn Loc was relentless in the 69th minute of the game. Nguyễn Dung hit a great freekick 77 minutes into the match. 78 minutes into the game, Phan Quang Thanh recieved a splendid long ball, split the defenders, and gently placed the ball to the left of Nguyễn Loc. Phan Quang Thanh showed that you don't have to tear a hole in the net to score, 0-2. After some fancy dribbling in the 81st minute, Phan Quang Thanh managed to get in a good position for a shot. Lai Chau's supporters rose to their feet, but Phan Quang Thanh was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Nguyễn Loc breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. An unexpectedly hard shot by Nghiêm Cadeo in the 90th minute of play forced Lai Chau's goalkeeper Huỳnh Binh to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Nguyễn Liem recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 93rd minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. In the 96th minute, Nghiêm Cadeo ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Huỳnh Binh was frozen by the shot and now it was 1-2. The Lai Chau players were relieved to hear the final whistle blow to end the match. The away crowd was happy to see their team win after a very tight game.