Quang Nam displayed their great determination to secure victory on the home field while Hai Phong were still loyal to the counterattack strategy, which powered them to success in the past rounds.

The hosts prevailed over the first 45 minutes but failed to break through Hai Phong’s solid defence.

After the break, a number of scoring opportunities were created by Quang Nam; however, their players either failed to beat goalkeeper Xuan Viet or had their finishes off target.

The guests’ counterattack tactic continued to work with Quang Nam. Starting from a fast counterattack in the 63rd minute, Stevens conveniently passed the ball to Fagan, enabling the striker to put the game to bed with an unstoppable shot past goalie Minh Nhut.

The 1-0 victory made Hai Phong the only team to maintain a winning run after four rounds of play. The port city team currently remain dominant atop the rankings with 12 points, three points ahead of FLC Thanh Hoa, who climbed to second place following a 4-2 win over Quang Ninh Coal.

In other matches, Song Lam Nghe An tasted their first V-League win after overcoming reigning champions Becamex Binh Duong with a score of 2-1 on March 10. Meanwhile, last year’s runners-up Hanoi T&T stuck to the bottom of the standings following a disappointing 0-1 loss to Sanna Khanh Hoa.

Dong Thap and XSKT Can Tho recorded 2-1 victories against Hoang Anh Gia Lai and Long An respectively, while newbies Hanoi shocked everyone with a stunning 3-0 win over powerhouse SHB Da Nang.