SAIGON MOVE TO TOP OF V-LEAGUE WITH WIN OVER HANOI

HANOI (12 March 2012) – Saigon FC moved to the top of the V-League Eximbank with an easy 2-0 win over Hanoi as they took advantage of the slip-up of their nearest rivals Hanoi T&T, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Dong Thap.

In the game that was played at the Thong Nhat Stadium, Saigon made full use of having two naturalised and three foreign players to score the early lead, just five minutes into the game.

Huynh Kesley Alves, Antonio Carlos and Nguyen Rogerio combined well to break through a poor Hanoi defence where a neat one-two with Kesley saw the latter  sending a low shot into the net.

Kesley then made no mistake in the 35^th minute when he converted a penalty after the foul on team-mate Yves Mbousi.

“I am happy with the three points and our players’ great performance. However, if we had made the most of the chances we created, the score should have been at least 5-0,” said chief coach Li Dinh Tuan after the game.

With the win, Saigon have picked up 19 points from nine matches played – one point above second-placed Hanoi T&T and two points adrift of third-placed SHB Da Nang.

In the other matches, Da Nang were held to a scoreless draw by bottom placed Kien Giang as Thanh Hoa defeated Hai Phong 3-0, Binh Duong beat Ninh Binh 3-1, while Song Lam Nghe An drew with Navibank Sai Gon 1-1.

CURRENT V-LEAGUE EXIMBANK 2012 STANDINGS