DENILSON MAKES IMPRESSIVE DEBUT

Following some uncertainty over the last few weeks, Denilson finally made his appearance in the colours of Hai Phong to help his new team to a 3-1 home win over Hoang Anh Gia Lai at the Lach Tray Stadium.

Denilson rifled in his first goal of the V-League off a free kick in the second minute of play.

In the meantime, four-goal hero Cong Vinh made sure that his T&T Hanoi team picked up all three points at the Thanh Hoa Stadium as they set aside the hosts with a 4-1 victory.

The win was T&T Hanoi’s second consecutive league win.

Cong Vinh nailed the opener on 12th minute of play but Dinh Tung equalized for Thanh Hoa in the 23rd minute.

But the Vietnam national striker then went on to score three more goals in the 45th, 68th and 85th minute for the win.

In the other matches of the weekend, Dong Tam Long An edged Nam Dinh 1-0 as Dong Thap also carved out a similar scoreline against Khanh Hoa to strengthen their second spot at the table.

The Cong picked up the full points against Song Lam Nghe An following their close 2-1 win while Ho Chi Minh City delivered a surprise on the weekend by dumping V-League leaders Da Nang 3-2 at the Thong Nhat Stadium.

But in spite of the loss, Da Nang are still at the top of the table with a comfortable nine points lead.

CURRENT V-LEAGUE 2009 STANDINGS (after 17 matches)

1. Da Nang 36pts (+17)

2. Dong Thap 27pts (+10)

3. Song Lam Nghe An 27pts (+6)

4. Khanh Hoa 24pts (+3)

5. Dong Tam Long An 24pts (+5)

6. The Cong 23pts (-3)

7. Hoang Anh Gia Lai 23pts (=)

8. Binh Duong 23pts (+2)

9. Hai Phong 22pts (-5)

10. Military Zone Four 21pts (-6)

11. T&T Hanoi 21pts (-1)

12. Nam Dinh 20pts (-6)

13. Ho Chi Minh City 18pts (-4)

14. Thanh Hoa 13pts (-20)