Lee Nguyen helps Ho Chi Minh City Club stay relegation
After a somewhat tedious first half, HCM City exploded in the second half. Lee Nguyen opened the scoring with a penalty in the 58th minute, before Hoang Vu Samson and Pham Trom Tinh respectively widened the gap.
The 3-0 victory helped Ho Chi Minh City reach 24 points, go to 10th and get out of the red light group. Since Nam Dinh - the penultimate team with 20 points, and Saigon FC - the bottom team with 19 points - will face off directly in the 25th round, Ho Chi Minh City will definitely stay in the relegation before the last two rounds. Da Nang, with 25 points, is also sure to stay in the V-League.
Before this round, even though Da Nang had 25 points, it was not certain that the relegation remained, because if the teams behind all won the last three rounds, they would all lose. The situation of Ho Chi Minh City is even more tragic because if they lose, they are easily overtaken by opponents. Therefore, the two teams entered the game cautiously and in the first half neither side dared to attack. The ball is mainly circulated from the middle of the field and the long-distance finishes are ineffective.
But when the first half ended, both teams received good news with Nam Dinh losing to Hai Phong in the earlier match. Nam Dinh's loss means that Da Nang will soon be relegated. Ho Chi Minh City will also be relegated if it wins three points. That determination was clearly shown by the home team with a sharp counter-attack when returning after a 15-minute break.
In the 57th minute, after a messy situation in front of the Da Nang goal, defender Vo Ngoc Toan had a dispute that caused Samson to fall in the penalty area. Thai referee Songkran Bunmeekiart immediately blew the penalty despite the visitors' backlash. From the 11-meter mark, Lee Nguyen fooled goalkeeper Phan Van Bieu to open the score for the home team.
Just seven minutes later, Ho Chi Minh City counter-attacked again, and Green escaped from the left wing and led the ball into the penalty area before passing the ball to Hoang Vu Samson to cushion the ball close to the wall to make it 2-0. All players in Ho Chi Minh City and the coaching staff ran to the corner of the field with joy as if they were champions.
With a safe score and a comfortable mentality, Ho Chi Minh City returned to play slowly, defend firmly and counterattack sharply. Lee Nguyen in a sublime playing day continuously pruned the ball to create many opportunities for his teammates. In the 90th minute, this Vietnamese-American midfielder coordinated with Green, then trimmed the ball for the provincial boss to hit the corner to set the score 3-0.
The final whistle sounded, the entire Ho Chi Minh City team danced and walked around the yard to celebrate with the audience. They went to 10th, five points more than the last three teams, Saigon FC, four points more than Nam Dinh and three points more than Ha Tinh. In the next round, Nam Dinh will meet Saigon, and regardless of the outcome of this match, Ho Chi Minh City will soon be relegated.
