Ha Tinh led the home team 3-1 thanks to a double from Victor Mansaray and a goal from Hoang Vu Samson, but Ho Chi Minh City lost 3-4 in round 9 of V-League 2023.
Playing at home against an opponent in poor form - losing three and drawing one of their last four matches, coach Nguyen Thanh Cong and his team had a chance to aim for three points. However, Ho Chi Minh City started the game better and opened the scoring in the 12th minute. From an attack on the right wing, the ball was passed into the home team's penalty area for Mansaray - a former Ha Tinh player - to score. In the stands, the home fans were stunned. Mansaray ran straight to share the joy with a small group of fans who had traveled from Ho Chi Minh City to cheer for the team.
However, similar to what happened recently, the Ho Chi Minh City defense was quite weak and could not withstand the pressure of Ha Tinh. In the 30th minute, from a very sharp corner kick on the right by captain Dinh Thanh Trung, the ball had a few touches and was cleared by a defender of the away team outside the 16m50 box. Thanh Trung was immediately present, unleashing a half-bounce left-footed shot from about 20 meters, defeating goalkeeper Pham Huu Nghia.
Dinh Thanh Trung (No. 7) celebrates after scoring a double, equalizing 3-3 for Ha Tinh. Photo: Duc Hung
The equalizer helped the home team improve, continuously attacking dangerously thanks to the mobility and agility of Dinh Thanh Trung. On the contrary, Ho Chi Minh City proactively played slowly to reduce Ha Tinh's excitement and unexpectedly scored the second goal in the third minute of injury time. Taking advantage of the chaos in the penalty area after a corner kick on the right, Mansaray headed the ball close to the goal, raising the score to 2-1. In the technical area, coach Vu Tien Thanh was happy, jumping up and hugging his colleagues. Many away team players also ran to the technical area, celebrating with their coach.
The surprise continued right at the beginning of the second half, when Ho Chi Minh City increased the score to 3-1 with a goal by Hoang Vu Samson, while Ha Tinh had not yet stabilized their formation.
Ho Chi Minh City (in blue) led the home team Ha Tinh by two goals but could not maintain the score. Photo: Duc Hung
Despite being two goals down, Ha Tinh still had enough time to try to turn the game around. In the 63rd minute, Bui Van Duc broke through on the left wing and crossed for Paulo Pinto to score, narrowing the score to 2-3. A minute later, the home team almost equalized when Van Duc broke through on the left wing and passed the ball, but his teammate shot it into the sky.
But Ha Tinh only had to wait until the 73rd minute to equalize. From a through ball in the middle, Diallo escaped to face Huu Nghia and was illegally blocked by defender Jonny Campbell in the penalty area. The referee immediately showed a red card to the foreign player of Ho Chi Minh City and pointed to the 11m mark. Thanh Trung was caught by Huu Nghia and his first shot was blocked, but the Ha Tinh captain still managed to rush in and score. The ball from this kick hit the crossbar before going into the net.
Ho Chi Minh City players collapsed after conceding a goal in the last minute of injury time of the second half. Photo: Duc Hung
With the morale boosted and the advantage of having more players, Ha Tinh launched a massive attack towards the end of the match and were rewarded with a goal that sealed the 4-3 result in the final minute of injury time. Van Long was the hero when he swooped in to score after a well-coordinated move on the right wing.
The match ended immediately afterwards, leaving the HCM City players collapsed in the middle of the field in disappointment and regret. On the home side, the entire Ha Tinh coaching staff jumped onto the field with the players hugging each other to celebrate the victory. In the stands, thousands of home fans waved flags in extreme excitement.
With three points from this match, Ha Tinh rose to sixth place with 13 points. Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City is still at the bottom of the table with four points. In round 10, Ha Tinh will play away at Nam Dinh, while Ho Chi Minh City will return home to host Da Nang.
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