Sports News 25/5

All eyes will be clearly focused on Hàng Đẫy Stadium Saturday as Hà Nội FC look to strengthen their position at the top of V.League 1.

Hoping to put a dent in their title challenge will be FLC Thanh Hóa who currently sit in fifth place in the table.

Although both have strong teams, many believe the home side’s mix of youth and experience will be too much for Thanh Hóa.

With six wins and two draws this season, Hà Nội are yet to taste defeat in the league after eight games and already the gap at the top is six points with Quảng Ninh Coal their closest challengers.

Saturday’s visitors to Hà Nội have never lifted the title, and came closest last season finishing runner’s up.

The home team has won the national premier league three times in 2010, 2013 and 2016. Last season they finished in third, a place behind tomorrow’s opposition.

Hà Nội Chu Đình Nghiêm believes the team he faces tomorrow are potential challengers for the top prize.

 “In recent years, Thanh Hóa have invested strongly with good rookies such as midfielders Vũ Minh Tuấn, Nguyễn Minh Tùng and Nguyễn Xuân Thành,” he said.

“They are arch rivals for the title of this year’s football season. It is not easy to beat them.”

The 3-1 win against Quảng Ninh Coal last week will be a driving force for Thanh Hóa in the upcoming game. That was the first win of coach Nguyễn Đức Thắng after his recent appointment,.

Following this win, Thanh Hóa rushed to train hard without days off.

“We want our players have good manners to prepare for the match with Hà Nội. Our rival have undefeated matches, so of course, they are very strong,” said Thắng.

Thắng used to be coach of Hà Nội’s junior players including Nguyễn Quang Hải, Đoàn Văn Hậu and Nguyễn Thành Chung who are in the national U23 team , so he knows Hà Nội’s strengths and weaknesses.

But Hàng Đẫy Stadium has not been a happy hunting ground for the visitors as they’ve not won there since 2012.

Another match also drawing the attention of fans and media nationwide is the fight between Hoàng Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) and Sông Lam Nghệ An (SLNA) at Pleiku Stadium in Gia Lai Province.

In the match, HAGL tied 2-2 with Cần Thơ to rank ninth in the standings, while SLNA also drew 1-1 with defending champions Quảng Nam.

Three points on Saturday is vital for both teams who are in desperate need to climb out of the drop zone.

Elsewhere, Quảng Nam will face Nam Định at Tam Kỳ Stadium and Hải Phòng will take on Sanna Khánh Hòa at Lạch Tray Stadium.

Meanwhile today, SHB Đà Nẵng will play Bình Dương, Sài Gòn meet Cần Thơ and Quảng Ninh face HCM City.

Yesterday, HCM City also announced their new chairman Nguyễn Hữu Thắng who was former head coach of Vietnamese national team to replace acting chairman Lê Công Vinh.

Bình wins first stage of Bình Dương cycling event

Young cyclist Nguyễn Văn Bình won the first stage of the Bình Dương Television Cycling Tournament, Hoa Sen Plastic Pipe Cup yesterday.

Bình, 16, of VUS-HCM City beat veterans to take the lead in the 99km section from Quy Nhơn to Tuy Hòa City.

He also won the yellow jersey award for best overall time, green jersey for best sprinter and white jersey award as the best young cyclist.

Today, nearly 70 cyclists from 11 teams nationwide will compete in the second stage from Tuy Hoà to Nha Trang City, lasting 133 km.

The event has a total prize of VNĐ400 million (US$17,400), of which the winner of the overall yellow jersey award will walk away with VNĐ60 million ($2,600).

HCM City 1 lose top spot after goalless draw

Hà Nội overtook HCM City 1 to take the lead after the defending champions grabbed just 1 point after a 0-0 draw against Phong Phú Hà Nam in the 2nd round of the Women’s National Football Championship 2018 on May 24.

After losing in the 1st round, Phong Phú Hà Nam started the match with determination to clinch their first win of the season. While HCM City 1 showed a confident face after a big win against HCM City 2.

The match was balanced with chances created by both teams, but none were converted into goals.

Despite having more attempts, Hà Nam failed to score as their players wasted good chances.

Shooting accuracy is clearly a serious problem for Hà Nam as they couldn’t score a single goal after two matches in the tournament despite numerous attempts.

Earlier at 4pm, Hà Nội had a difficult 2-1 win against HCM City 2.

HCM City 2 surprisingly lead the scoresheet in the 33rd minute with an opening goal scored by Thanh Như after a rare counterattack.

But in the 61st minute, after a corner, Hà Nội’s striker Phạm Hải Yến equalized with a header.

HCM couldn’t survive for long under Hà Nội’s massive pressure. The winning goal came 25 minutes later from substitute Nguyễn Thị Huế and sealed the victory for Hà Nội.

The result helped Hà Nội climb to the top of the table, while HCM City 1 dropped to 2nd place.

Hà Nội triumph at National Beach Handball Championship

The Hà Nội women’s team beat HCM City in the final to win the title at the National Beach Handball Championship.

The tournament concluded in Phan Thiết city in the central province of Bình Thuận on May 23.

On the men’s side, HCM City won the title after defeating HCM City’s District 10.

More than 100 players from 10 male and 10 female teams took part in the five-day tournament. The players competed in a round-robin format.

According to the event’s organising board, the best players will be selected for the national teams to prepare for upcoming international events.

The tournament was co-organised by the Việt Nam Handball Federation and the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Hà Nội triumphs at junior championships

Hà Nội topped the medal tally of the National Junior Athletics Championship which ended at Vinh Stadium in the central province of Nghệ An on May 23.
The team brought home 13 golds, 10 silvers and nine bronze medals. The Military team came second with seven golds, two silvers and three bronze. While Đà Nẵng were third with five golds and one bronze.

In the last day of competition, Bàn Thị Thu of Yên Bái took gold medal with a time of 26.3secs in the women’s 200m. Thanh Hóa’s Phí Thị Thảo Yến and Quách Thị Huệ got silver and bronze medal, respectively.

On the men’s side, Nguyễn Tuấn Kiệt of Tiền Giang won a gold after clocking a time of 24.2secs. Trần Minh Khoa of HCM City and Phan Tuấn Anh of Hà Nội were the runners-up.

In the women’s 800m, Lê Thị Kim Phượng of Ninh Thuận grabbed a gold medal with a time of 2:13.4. While the silver and bronze medal went to Nguyễn Thu Quyên of Thái Bình and Bùi Thị Lương of Hòa Bình.

Meanwhile, Long An’s Nguyễn Thanh Sang received a gold medal in the men’s side with a time of 2:05.2. Xa Thanh Sơn of Hòa Bình and Hanoian Đỗ Công Minh won silver and bronze medal.

The four-day tournament attracted the participation of nearly 600 athletes from 55 cities and provinces across the country, competing in 76 sets of medals.

Tân Hiệp Hưng beat Sanna Khánh Hòa at national futsal event

Tân Hiệp Hưng (THH) defeated Sanna Khánh Hòa 3-1 in the first leg’s fifth round of the National HDBank Futsal Tournament at Tiên Sơn Sports Arena in Đà Nẵng City on May 23.
“Today, my team played well under the tactics of the training board. However, there are four more rounds to decide which teams enter the quarter-finals. We will try our best,” said assistant coach Bùi Xuân Hiền of THH team.

With this victory, THH moved to second in the rankings with nine points, while Khánh Hòa fell to bottom-place with just four points.

Earlier, Thái Sơn Bắc bested Kim Toàn Đà Nẵng 6-3.

Today, Sanatech Khánh Hòa will face Hoàng Thư Đà Nẵng and Sài Gòn FC meet Thái Sơn Nam.