Scores & Results Sports23 Editorial 2 min read
Nam Dinh Rally Past 10-Man Viettel to Reclaim V.League Lead
Ngoc Son scored twice after Paulo Tapeu's red card as the defending champions overturned Wesley Nata's early header to go top of V.League 1.
Defending champions Thep Xanh Nam Dinh reclaimed top spot in Vietnam's V.League 1 on Saturday night, overturning an early deficit to beat The Cong Viettel 3-1 in front of a packed Thien Truong Stadium — a result that stretched the visitors' winless run to eight matches.
Tapeu's red card opens the door
Viettel actually struck first. Brazilian forward Wesley Nata rose to head home Tuan Tai's corner in the eighth minute, and the visitors then dropped into a deep, multi-layered defensive block that frustrated the champions through a scoreless remainder of the first half, per The Thao Vietnam Plus.
The match turned five minutes after the restart when Viettel defender Paulo Tapeu was shown a straight red card for a dangerous challenge on Ezequiel, leaving the visitors to protect their lead a man light.
Nam Dinh needed just four minutes to cash in. Ngoc Son finished from close range in the 54th minute to level, before Caio Cesar produced the moment of the night in the 76th — a curling strike from outside the box into the far corner for 2-1. With Viettel forced to chase the game in stoppage time, Ngoc Son completed his brace by rolling the ball into an empty net to seal the 3-1 scoreline.
Elsewhere in Round 6
Song Lam Nghe An and Cong An Ha Noi shared a 1-1 draw between second and third — a result that keeps SLNA within a point of the new leaders on 12 points, while the capital side stay on 11. Hai Phong edged Dong Nai 1-0, Tagueu punishing a poor clearance from Tan Sinh on the stroke of halftime to lift the port city side up to seventh; Dong Nai remain rooted to the foot of the table with a single point from six matches, per the VPF.
Friday's openers saw Hanoi FC beat Ninh Binh 2-1, Bac Ninh edge Hoang Anh Gia Lai 1-0, and Dong A Thanh Hoa held 1-1 by Hong Linh Ha Tinh. The round concludes Sunday with Ho Chi Minh City hosting SHB Da Nang.
What it means
Six rounds into the season the table is tight at the top: Nam Dinh lead on 13 points but just three separate them from sixth-placed Ho Chi Minh City, who still have Sunday's game in hand. For Viettel, once the league's dominant force, an eighth consecutive match without victory leaves them marooned in the bottom three on four points — a staggering slide for the 2020 champions.
Catch up on the rest of the region's action in our SEA Sports Digest.
