Matches in the 6^th round of the V League were played at stadiums across the country on 16, 18 and 19 February.

SHB DN’s Ha Duc Chinh (orange) and a Thanh Hoa player

After playing out a goalless draw against SHB Da Nang at the city’s Hoa Xuan Stadium, current leaders FLC Thanh Hoa continued their unbeaten run of 6 matches, including 4 victories.

During the match, both teams produced impressive and at times exciting performances, and created several chances to score, but the game ended with the score still 0-0.  Slight advantage to SHB DN – they only had one player booked whilst their opponents had 3.

The match between Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and foot of the table Long An in the Thong Nhat Stadium created interest when Long An stopped playing in the last few minutes of the game. 

In the 81^st minute, referee Nguyen Trong Thu awarded HCMC a penalty because their striker Dyachenko was in a collision with Long An’s midfielder Pham Hoang Lam, and they both fell to the ground.

Furious with the referee’s decision, the Long An players collectively decided to stop playing.  When Long An’s goalkeeper Minh Nhut was required to face the penalty, he turned his back on the penalty taker and allowed the ball into his net.

Then when Long An were asked to restart the game, they passed the ball straight to HCMC who freely scored again.  The game ended with the final score 5-2.

In the other matches, Hai Phong managed a 1-1 draw against defending champions Ha Noi at home, whilst Quang Nam were also held at home to a 2-2 draw against Sanna Khanh Hoa at the Tam Ky Stadium.

Can Tho lifted themselves off the bottom with a good 4-2 home win over Sai Gon, whilst Quang Ninh defeated Song Lam Nghe An 2-1 at home thanks to a double by their striker Vu Minh Tuan.  Hoang Anh Gia Lai beat Binh Duong 1-0 at the Binh Duong Stadium.

After the first 6 rounds of matches, Thanh Hoa currently top the league with 14 points, followed by Quang Nam on 12 and Ha Noi on 11.  SHB DN now stand in 5^th place with 9 points.  Can Tho and Long An are the bottom pair, with 5 and 4 points respectively.

SHB DN will next play 12^th placed Song Lam Nghe An on Sunday 26 February at 4.30pm in Vinh City.  The previous day will see a top of the table clash when Quang Nam host FLC Thanh Hoa.