Seeds progress in VTF Pro Tour 3

Top seed Trịnh Linh Giang on the second day of VTF Pro Tour 3 – 3rd Open Viettravel Cup 2018. — Photo vtf.org.vn

There were no surprises on the second day of the VTF Pro Tour 3 – 3rd Open Viettravel Cup 2018 as all seeds got through their matches smoothly.

In the opening round of men’s doubles, the pair of Hoàng Thành Trung and Ngô Đức Dương of The Police team scraped past Bùi Trí Nguyên and Nguyễn Anh Thắng from former hosts Hải Đăng Tây Ninh in three close sets.

The two pairs previously met in the quarterfinal stage of the VTF Pro Tour 2 held in southern province of Tây Ninh, where the host team won over The Police.

The encounter was seen as an early final in men’s doubles, as both teams were extremely experienced.

The match was a thriller from the start, as the two pairs scrambled for each point.

Trung and Dương surrendered the first set, 7-5, after being broken by Tây Ninh in the eleventh game.

The People’s Policeman team picked up the pace in the second set, with Dương hitting clever volleys and Trung anchoring the team’s defense off the ground.

Trung and Dương’s coordinated effort won them the set, 6-3, pushing the match to a decisive super tie-break.

The tension continued as the teams held on to 3-3, 5-5, and 7-7 deadlocks before The Policeman pairing successfully earned a break and won the decider, 10-8.

Other top seeds also had a productive day, as Minh Tuấn of hosts Đà Nẵng moved to the next round by beating Võ Văn Toàn 6-2 in first set and his rival quitted the match at 3-2 in the second set. Trịnh Linh Giang easily crushed Vũ Hà Minh Đức from Hà Nội at 6-1, 6-2. 

The matches were held on June 6 at the Tuyên Sơn Sports Palace in Đà Nẵng.

The tournament will continue today with matches in the men’s and women’s singles events, along with quarterfinal action in men’s and women’s doubles. 

Quảng Nam to face Hà Nội FC

Quảng Nam and Cần Thơ’s players vie for the ball in a recent match of the national premier league. Quảng Nam will face Hà Nội FC tomorrow. — Photo thethaovietnam.vn

Defending champions Quảng Nam will face Hà Nội FC in the 12th round of the V. League 1 tomorrow.

The game will be held at Tam Kỳ Stadium in Quảng Nam Province in the South-Central Coast region of Việt Nam.

Coach Hoàng Văn Phúc of Quảng Nam said that although his team would be playing without their key strikers Claudecir dos Reis Rodrigues Júnior and Hà Minh Tuấn who have been sidelined because of injury, Quảng Nam would try their best to earn three points.

“We have suitable tactics for the upcoming match,” Phúc said.

The hard win of 1-0 against Cần Thơ in the last round will be a driving force for Quảng Nam competing on their home turf. They are fifth out of 14 teams in the rankings with 16 points.

The capital team Hà Nội FC have gained nine wins and two draws to rank first in the league with 29 points. They scored 31 goals and have only seven losing goals.

Hà Nội are expected to overthrow Quảng Nam to gain the title in this year’s football season.

Hà Nội proved their power in the 11th round last Sunday. Without key striker Ganiyu Bolayi Oseni, who was suspended for two matches for elbowing defender Mạnh Hùng of SLNA in the 10th round on May 30 at Vinh Stadium, the team still crushed Khánh Hòa 4-0.

Oseni cannot play tomorrow as well. The Nigerian striker is the top scorer of league now with 12 goals after 10 matches.

At Cẩm Phả Stadium in the northern province of Quảng Ninh, the hosts will face favourite Hoàng Anh Gia Lai (HAGL).

This match is also expected to attract attention of media and fans nationwide. The two sides need points to chase top team Hà Nội in the rankings.

HAGL moved to fourth place with 17 points, while Quảng Ninh are second with 21 points.

At Lạch Tray Stadium in the northern port city of Hải Phòng, Hải Phòng will take on FLC Thanh Hóa, who have stopped their contract with four players.

Elsewhere today, Cần Thơ will meet HCM City, Bình Dương fight Khánh Hòa and Đà Nẵng play Nam Định.