Do Merlo (orange shirt) had a busy day for Da Nang. — Photo webthethao.vn

The game was held at Hoa Xuan Stadium in the central city of Da Nang.

The hosts started the brighter and it only took five minutes for Do Merlo to rattle the woodwork from long range, with goalkeeper Tuan Manh beaten all ends up.

The Argentine-Vietnamese striker had several more chances to open the scoring, but the teams went into the break goalless.

Merlo continued his own personal duel with the frame of the goal in the second half and was unlucky to see an excellent lobbed effort come off the bar in the 63rd minute.

A mere minute later the home side did get the breakthrough they deserved, as midfielder Dang Anh Tuan skipped past Khanh Hoa’s defenders and slotted home to make it 1-0.

The away side seemed destined to grab a point after they were awarded an 82nd minute penalty which Brazilian forward Warley Nascimento de Oliveira duly dispatched.

However there was to be another twist, as Da Nang won a spot-kick themselves in the second minute of extra time.

Merlo stepped up and there was to be no mistake this time, sending the home fans happy and with all three points.

With this victory, Da Nang now stand seventh in the table, while Khanh Hoa fell to 14th.

In another match, Song Lam Nghe An draw 0-0 with Hai Phong FC.

VNS