The first time Thong Nhat Stadium has VAR, Ho Chi Minh City Club wins dramatic points against The Cong Viettel

On the evening of September 15, Ho Chi Minh City Club welcomed The Cong Viettel Club, in the match of round 1 of V-League 2024 - 2025. This is also the first match at Thong Nhat Stadium with the appearance of video assistant referee (VAR) technology.

VAR car appeared for the first time at Thong Nhat Stadium

Referee Tran Dinh Thinh (left) officiated the first match with VAR at Thong Nhat Stadium.

Although the "Red Battleship" was rated lower than the away team in terms of strength, they played very confidently with home field advantage. Ho Chi Minh City Club and Viettel The Cong Club played continuously in the first half. The team led by coach Phung Thanh Phuong did not control the ball much but still created opportunities towards the opponent's penalty area. Meanwhile, coach Nguyen Duc Thang's team also threatened the home team's goal many times. However, the common point of the two teams is that the players playing on the attacking line did not handle the final step well, to put the ball into the opponent's net.

On the Ho Chi Minh City Club side, Hoang Vinh Nguyen and winger Bui Ngoc Long were the targets of many attacks, but these two players were unable to take advantage of them to create favorable conditions for their teammates to score. Meanwhile, the army team's attacking options were more diverse, but not sharp enough to penetrate the "red battleship" defense. The first half ended without any goals scored.

Player born in 2002 Hoang Vinh Nguyen (right, Ho Chi Minh City Club) disputes with Vietnam national team center back Nguyen Thanh Binh

In the second half, Ho Chi Minh City FC played better. Coach Phung Thanh Phuong's team even created more shots. In the 59th minute, fans and members of The Cong Viettel FC were shocked when Thanh Khoi took a very dangerous shot but the ball went wide of the post. Opportunities also passed by the two new foreign players who had just arrived at the "red battleship" since the beginning of the season, Sorga Erik and Endrick. On the other side, The Cong Viettel FC could not create any clear situations.

The match was quite dramatic but ended in a 0-0 draw. Ho Chi Minh City Club and Viettel The Cong Club shared points at Thong Nhat Stadium.

In round 2 of V-League, Ho Chi Minh City FC will play away at Binh Dinh FC. Meanwhile, The Cong Viettel FC will face Hanoi FC.

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Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lan-dau-san-thong-nhat-co-var-clb-tphcm-gianh-diem-kich-tinh-truoc-the-cong-viettel-185240915201941898.htm