Denilson’s goal helps Hai Phong seal 3-1 win

(22-06-2009)

HA NOI — Denilson de Oliveira scored a goal to help Hai Phong Cement end their losing streak with a 3-1 victory over Hoang Anh Gia Lai on their home turf at Lach Trach Stadium yesterday.

Despite his right leg injury, the Brazilian only needed two minutes to make his first goal during his first appearance on the field.

Hai Phong were given a free kick 18m on the left far away from Hoang Anh Gia Lai’s (HAGL) net, and Oliveira took charge of scoring for the host. The former world champion made thousands of home fans go wild with a straight shot past keeper Tran Quoc Viet.

However, former V-League champion HAGL, who are said to be the Vietnamese Real Madrid, with a lot of stars in the line-up, levelled the result just 11 minutes later.

Lee Nguyen, a young talented Viet kieu player, made a perfect corner kick, sending the ball to Evaldo Goncalves whose strong header easily went through to the Hai Phong net.

Oliveira was faulted near the penalty box and the host received a second free kick, which was converted to their second goal by captain Leandro.

It was also the last scene with the Brazilian star on the field, as he was put to rest in the second half when coach Vuong Tien Dung realised that his injury was holding him back.

When it got down to the last second, when people planned to celebrate the first win of the team after three consecutive losses, Hai Phong’s Elenido de Jesus raised the result to 3-1 after a pass by Minh Chau, causing a much bigger celebration for the people of the portal city.

The victory pushed Hai Phong to ninth place with 22 points, two higher than the last round. Meanwhile, HAGL were down two to seventh, with 23.

In Ha Noi’s Hang Day Stadium, The Cong enjoyed their third win in a row after beating Song Lam Nghe An 2-1.

Newcomer Reginaldo from Brazil opened the score at the second minute by a tap to the far corner of keeper Silhavy Michal’s goal. Their second goal came three minutes after the break by halfback Le Phuoc Tu, whose stormy shot was considered one of the best of the round.

In the third quarter of the match, Eric Muranda narrowed the result for the visitors when he received a good pass from former national member Pham Van Quyen.

It was the second loss for SLNA this season, which forced them to 27 points, down to third, while The Cong jumped to eighth with 23.

The table top team SHB Da Nang yesterday suddenly lost 2-3 to HCM City, one of the teams lying at the bottom of the rankings. However, the failure did not affect their position, as they were leading over the runner-up, Dong Thap, who won over Khatoco Khanh Hoa 1-0, by a nine-point gap.

Thanh Hoa suffered a humiliating defeat of 1-4 to T&T Ha Noi, whose star forward Le Cong Vinh scored all four goals, two in the first and two in the second half.

The only goal from the host was by Dinh Tung from a penalty shoot-out. Thanh Hoa now have only 13 points and the door for them to stay with V-League is closing. — VNS