SLNA FALTER TO NINH BINH; HANOI CLOSE GAP WITH GAME IN HAND

HANOI (10 Aug 2011) – Song Lam Nghe An (SLNA) faltered to a 3-1 defeat to Ninh Binh as defending champions Hanoi T&T came from behind to demolish Navibank Saigon 4-2.

Despite putting in the early pressure, SLNA failed to find the back of the net as Fagan wasted several chances which then allowed Ninh Binh to build their composure for the lead off Gustavo at the end of the first half.

Gustavo then doubled the advantage for Ninh Binh early in the second half as Dinh Hoang La rounded things off with the third goal soon afterwards.

Quang Tinh scored the consolation goal for SLNA deep in injury time.

At the Thong Nhat Stadium, Navibank Saigon were in front after just eight minutes off goals from Francois Endene and Quang Hai.

With the score 2-0 to the advantage of Navibank at the end of the first half, Hanoi upped the tempo after the break for Antonio Tavares to narrow the gap to 2-1 in the 49th minute.

Ten minutes later, Gonzalo scored the equaliser for Hanoi as Christiano then gave them the lead in the 61st minute.

Gonzalo then scored his second goal of the afternoon two minutes later to seal a 4-2 victory for the defending champions.

With the win, Hanoi moved up to second in the standings with 42 points, three points behind leaders SLNA (45 points) although the latter have a game in hand.

In the other matches, Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) fought back to a 2-2 draw against hosts Thanh Hoa as Khanh Hoa stunned Dong Thap 4-1 at the Nha Trang Stadium.

CURRENT V-LEAGUE 2011 STANDINGS