VietNamNet Bridge – Agostinho Petronilo scored twice against his former club Hoang Anh Gia Lai to ensure Khatoco Khanh Hoa a 2-1 victory in the V-League's ninth round yesterday, April 3, at Nha Trang Stadium.

The victory for the host team was a surprise win as their rivals are two-time champions who have been enjoying a strong performance this season. But it proved the fact that Khanh Hoa, despite not being a strong team, are always dangerous on home turf.

Just two minutes from kick-off, national team member Le Tan Tai broke into Gia Lai's box with the ball before being downed by defender Benjamin Dzigba. The foul resulted in a penalty shot for Khanh Hoa, which Petronilo duly converted into the match's opening goal.

Petronilo's goal inspired his team to step up the pressure on Gia Lai, with the home team speeding up their play to deliver a barrage of attacks on goal.

They came close to scoring again on several occasions, such as when Tai wasted his chance in a shot straight on goal while Nguyen Ngoc Dieu's header went wide by a hair.

Gia Lai launched several counter-assaults but the Central Highland team's forwards failed to beat Khanh Hoa's goalie Danh Hoang Tuan.

Khanh Hoa doubled their score in the 72nd minute when Petronilo received an accurate pass from the left wing thanks to midfielder Le Cong Quoc. The Brazilian produced a strong header to the far corner of the goal, notching up his second goal of the season.

About 10 minutes later, Tran Ngoc Bao narrowed the gap for the visitors with a close-range tap that keeper Hoang Tuan had no chance to save.

Losing the match, Gia Lai fell down one spot to fifth place with 13 points while Khanh Hoa replaced them at fourth with 16 points.

In Thanh Hoa Province, Dong Thap failed to maintain their position at the top of the V-League table after losing 0-3 to hosts Thanh Hoa.

Thanh Hoa's Trinh Quang Vinh scored twice in the early minutes of the second half while Phan Tien Hoai added a third in extra time.

It was the second loss for Dong Thap, who dropped to third place with 17 points. Despite winning three points, Thanh Hoa remain in the bottom three on the rankings, although they have widened their lead over the bottom two teams.

Song Lam Nghe An, who defeated Navibank Sai Gon on Thursday, stole the top position with 19 points, two higher than SHB Da Nang who yesterday beat Dong Tam Long An 3-1.

It seems that Simon McMenemy has not found a way to lift Long An from the very bottom spot. Under his management for about one month, the former champions lost two matches and drew one.

In a match in Ha Noi, host Hoa Phat Ha Noi tied 1-1 with Vicem Hai Phong. Timothy Anjembe converted a penalty kick into a goal for Hoa Phat at the 16th minute. The foreign striker proved to be the crucial link in Hoa Phat's frontline as he also assisted and threatened Hai Phong's net on several other occasions, but unfortunately his attempts were not successful.

Hai Phong's players failed to meet expectations during the match, despite the draw. Most of their attacks were quickly repelled, while the goal they scored during the 82nd minute came during a moment of chaos in front of Hoa Phat's box.

The ball touched former national player Le Bat Hieu's foot and went towards the net with Hoa Phat goalkeeper Nguyen Viet Nam unable to stop the ball rolling over the line.

The last match of the round ended with a 2-0 score for hosts Ninh Binh who defeated bottom-placed Ha Noi ACB. It was the seventh loss for the capital city team who are a candidate for relegation next season.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News