Five highlights of V-League 1 2016 Round 2

Strong performances from foreign players, Hanoi FC's first victory in V-League, and Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) and Hanoi T&T’s losses at home were among significant events in Round 2 of the 2016 V-League 1.

Hanoi T&T (white) suffer a 1-0 loss to Quang Ninh Coal (red) at home on February 27. (Credit: Duc Anh/NDO)

1. Foreign strikers impress

The second round of this year’s V-League continued with impressive performances from foreign strikers as they contributed greatly to their home teams.

On Saturday, all five goals in three games (XSKT Can Tho 2-0 Song Lam Nghe An, Hanoi T&T 0-1 Quang Ninh Coal, Sanna Khanh Hoa 0-2 FLC Thanh Hoa) were scored by foreign players; most notably were those from two European newcomers – Ivan Firer and Dyachenko.

On Sunday, fans witnessed the impressive form of the familiar faces who confirmed their talents in the last season - Fagan and Stevens from Hai Phong FC with two goals contributing to their team's 5-0 victory against Long An. A double from Gaston Merlo also helped SHB Da Nang come from behind to beat HAGL 2-1.

2. Hanoi T&T and HAGL’s home winning streak broken

Impressive performances at home by Hanoi T&T and HAGL were ended in this round, with their losses to Quang Ninh Coal and SHB Da Nang respectively.

For Gia Lai, their home unbeaten streak extending since February 15, 2015 was demolished by Da Nang. Despite an opening goal by Van Toan at the 73 minute mark, two goals from headers by Gaston Merlo wrecked all attempts by the Pleiku Stadium home team.

Meanwhile, Hanoi T&T could not raise their winning streak record at Hang Day Stadium to 28. The three-year winning streak of the capital club was ended after the 0-1 loss to Quang Ninh Coal.

3. Newcomers Hanoi FC earn the first win

After the 0-5 defeat in the opening match to HAGL, Hanoi players faced another challenge as they journeyed to Cao Lanh Stadium in Dong Thap. But luck fell on coach Nguyen Duc Thang and his players, as Dong Thap’s Trung Son accidentally net their own goal after a long shot by Duc Trung. The 1-0 away win to Dong Thap helped Hanoi win their first three points in V-League.

4. Long ball dominates

Wing attack style with long passes and headers were the feature of most goals in Round 2. In the Saturday matches, Quang Ninh Coal beat Hanoi T&T with Dyachenko’s header. Thanh Hoa FLC scored two goals against Sanna Khanh Hoa, also from long ball situations.

On Sunday, SHB Da Nang came from behind to beat HAGL 2-1, thanks to long passes into the penalty area to make use of Gaston Merlo’s talent for headers.

5. Van Thang, Van Toan make strong impression

In the last season, striker Nguyen Van Toan of HAGL took 1,086 minutes to have his first goal in V-League, but this season, the Hai Duong native has been scoring constant goals for his home team. Van Toan scored four out of six goals for HAGL so far (two goals and two assists). The impressive performance by the 19-year-old striker has made home fans forget Cong Phuong, Tuan Anh, and Xuan Truong who are playing abroad.

Meanwhile, striker Le Van Thang, who has set a new record for the number of goals in a season for a domestic player (16 goals), also scored twice to help Hai Phong beat Long An 4-0 at home at Lach Tray Stadium.

(Source: NDO)