Ho Chi Minh City FC lost to Ha Tinh FC, Khanh Hoa lost to Nghe An FC

HL Ha Tinh won lightly on the field of Ho Chi Minh City

After 4 unbeaten matches (2 wins, 2 draws), coach Phung Thanh Phuong's HCMC Club is rated higher than the visiting team Ha Tinh.

However, it seems that coach Nguyen Thanh Cong of HL Ha Tinh has read the playing style of Ho Chi Minh City Club under coach Phung Thanh Phuong.

CLB TPHCM thua HL Hà Tĩnh, Khánh Hòa thất thủ trước SL Nghệ An - 1 — Ha Tinh defeated HCMC FC at Thong Nhat Stadium (Photo: HCMC FC).

Mr. Thanh Cong let his team play slowly, not rushing to push up the attacking formation against Ho Chi Minh City FC, who have been good at playing defensive counter-attacks in the past rounds. Although in theory, Ha Tinh is the team that really needs points in this match.

After a first half without many dangerous situations, the second half of the match was more exciting. Ha Tinh was the better team.

In the 52nd minute, Bui Van Duc of the away team warned the home team by breaking away and entering the 16m50 area of Ho Chi Minh City Club. Van Duc shot the ball from about 16m, but the ball went wide of the home team's goal.

However, not long after that, Ha Tinh found the opening goal. From the left wing, Van Duc passed the ball past the entire defense of Ho Chi Minh City Club, allowing Tran Dinh Tien to take over the space, tap the ball in from about 8m, scoring the goal that sealed the 1-0 victory for Ha Tinh.

CLB TPHCM thua HL Hà Tĩnh, Khánh Hòa thất thủ trước SL Nghệ An - 2 — Khanh Hoa lost to SLNA at Nha Trang Stadium (Photo: KHFC).

This victory helps Ha Tinh temporarily leave behind the bottom team Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL). Currently, coach Nguyen Thanh Cong's team has 6 points, 4 points more than HAGL and has played one more match.

In another match taking place on the afternoon of December 26, SLNA won 1-0 right at Nha Trang Stadium of Khanh Hoa Club.

The only goal of the match was scored by Mai Sy Hoang. The SLNA player received the ball bouncing off the Khanh Hoa defense, Sy Hoang kicked the ball accurately, bringing 3 points to the Nghe An team.

Despite losing the match, Khanh Hoa still has 6 points, 4 points more than HAGL. Khanh Hoa and Ha Tinh will only become worrisome if HAGL defeats Hanoi FC at Pleiku Stadium tomorrow (December 27).