SHB Da Nang have now dropped into 3^rd place in the V League after a disappointing 3-0 away loss to newly-promoted Ha Noi (HN) in the Hang Day Stadium on Sunday.    

HN played in a 4-1-4-1 formation in order to strengthen their attack.  In addition, their midfielder Andrew closely marked SHB DN’s hero Gaston Merlo and prevented him from making the best of his skills.  As a result, an exciting first half ended goalless.

In the second half, HN boosted their attacking options and opened their scoring in the 61^st minute through striker Trinh Duy Long.  Sixteen minutes later, striker Truong Cong Thao scored the second.  Then, in the very last minute of second-half stoppage time, HN’s Haitian striker Jean-Eudes Maurice sent a powerful header directly into the goal to give his team a convincing 3-0 win.

SHB’s striker Merlo with the ball

In the other matches, defending champions Binh Duong were easily beaten at home 1-2 by Song Lam Nghe An.  Hai Phong had a 0-1 away win over QNK Quang Nam, their 4^th win in a row and they remain in top spot.  Sanna Khanh Hoa defeated Ha Noi T&T 1-0 at home, Quang Ninh suffered a 2-4 home loss to Thanh Hoa, Can Tho had a 2-1 home win over Dong Tam Long An, and Hoang Anh Gia Lai were defeated 2-1 by Dong Thap. 

After the first 4 rounds, Hai Phong are top of the league with 12 points, followed by Thanh Hoa on 9 and then SHB DN also on 9 but with a poorer goal difference.  QNK Quang Nam and Ha Noi T&T are the bottom 2, both with just one point.  

The V League programme will now be suspended for one month because some of the players will be called to serve in Viet Nam's national U23 team to participate in the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup.  V League matches will resume on 10 April when SHB DN will be at home against Quang Ninh at 5.00pm.