SHB Da Nang made a perfect start to the 2021 V.League 1 season with a convincing 1-0 home win over Ho Chi Minh City Club (HCMC) on Sunday afternoon at the Hoa Xuan Stadium.

SHB DN’s midfielder Phan Van Long celebrating a goal by lifting his teammate Ha Duc Chinh and shouting in joy

In this match, HCMC Club were without domestic striker Ho Tuan Tai due to injuries and overseas Vietnamese midfielder Lee Nguyen due to quarantine rules following his move from the USA to Viet Nam.

By contrast, the home team fielded such key stars as Phan Van Long, Ha Duc Chinh, Dang Anh Tuan and Rafaelson Bezerra Fernandes.

With home advantage, SHB DN entered the match confidently from the beginning. The home team’s players continuously created goal-scoring opportunities through perfect combination and incisive play between strikers Ha Duc Chinh and Rafaelson in the attacking line.

Striker Ha Duc Chinh opened the scoring for the hosts in the 17^th minute after latching on to an accurate pass from midfielder Phan Van Long.

In the second half, SHB DN players piled on the pressure to try to score more goals, but they missed several scoring opportunities.

In particular, striker Chinh scored with a powerful header in the 46^th minute but the goal was ruled offside.

Two minutes later, Brazilian striker Rafaelson made a skillful shot toward HCMC’s goal, but it narrowly went off the post.  Likewise, young local player Phi Hoan’s thunderbolt cannoned off the post in the 50^th minute.

The game finally ended at 1-0.

SHB DN’s coach Le Huynh Duc said that he felt good about his team’s opening game and was happy to start the season off on a positive note.

“We had some rough scrimmages, but our players played better on Sunday. This is going to help our confidence for the next one”, coach Duc added.

After this season's opening win, SHB Da Nang are in 4^th place in the league table.

SHB Da Nang will play at the Cam Pha Stadium against Than Quang Ninh at 6.00pm on Sunday, 24 January.

The other match results were:

                         Hong Linh Ha Tinh 1-2 Than Quang Ninh

                                           Sai Gon 1-0 Hoang Anh Gia Lai

                         Song Lam Nghe An 1-1 Binh Dinh

                                     Binh Duong 1-0 Thanh Hoa

                                              Viettel 0-1 Hai Phong

                                         Nam Dinh 3-0 Ha Noi

By TINH BAO - Translated by M.D