Five highlights of V-League 2016 Round 17

Hai Phong winded in the championship race and the relegation battle heating up were among the most notable events of the Toyota V-League 2016 Round 17 taking place last weekend.

1. SHB Da Nang, FLC Thanh Hoa put heat on the race to top with Hai Phong

It seemed that current table leader Hai Phong had a shortness of breath as the league moved towards the most intense phase of the championship race. Despite playing home on Sunday, the hosts of Lach Tray Stadium were completely empty-handed after 90 minutes, suffering a humiliating 0-3 loss to SHB Da Nang, their direct competitor, and also receiving two additional red cards.

Along with a 2-2 draw between FLC Thanh Hoa and Becamex Binh Duong, the distance between Hai Phong and the chasing group has shrunk dramatically. They are only three points over second-placed SHB Da Nang and four points over third place FLC Thanh Hoa only. With nine rounds remaining in the V-League 2016, Hai Phong could lose the top position at any time.

Hai Phong (red) suffer a humiliating 0-3 defeat at home to SHB Da Nang (white) on Sunday. (Credit: TNO)

2. The relegation battle heating up after each round

Round 17 was a less fun tournament for the four teams at the bottom - Song Lam Nghe An, Hoang Anh Gia Lai, Long An and Dong Thap.

The most surprising were Dong Thap as they were the only team among the four to earn a point after a 1-1 draw in Nha Trang with Sanna Khanh Hoa. Long An, Gia Lai and Nghe An had nothing in Sunday's trips away from home.

 3. Lack of goals, lots of cards

Round 17 witnessed not much goals per game. Couples with the highest goals were the 2-2 draw between Thanh Hoa and Binh Duong. In addition, no team netted more than three goals in this round.

In contrast to the shortage of goals, the number of penalty cards was relatively large with 31 yellows and four of which became red cards for Anh Hung and Van Nam, both from Hai Phong.

4. Silence from top 3 scorers

In a round without Gaston Merlo, two candidates in the race for top scorer - Hoang Vu Samson (Hanoi T&T) and Pape Omar (FLC Thanh Hoa) - were unable to open fire. Samson was powerless to find the way to Nghe An’s net, while Omar only had an assist for Sunday’s goal in the clash with Binh Duong.

5. Fans increasingly flock to the stands

Round 17 marked a large turnout of fans. According to the organisers, the average number of fans per game was about 6,300. The match with the lowest number of spectators was the confrontation between Can Tho and Saigon FC (2,500 people), while the largest was in the matches at Thanh Hoa and Lach Tray Stadiums (both with 9,000).

This was really a positive sign amidst a recent spectator turnout. Recently, Nghe An and Gia Lai, the teams with the largest number of fans, have witnessed a significant decline in the amount of fans at home games.

(Source: NDO)