Thanh Hoa have relinquished their status as V.League 1 leaders after falling to a heavy 8-0 defeat to Dong Nai at the Dong Nai Stadium on Saturday.
Thanh Hoa entered the clash unbeaten in their previous nine outings, but were dealt a huge blow after ten minutes when goalkeeper To Vinh Loi was handed his marching orders.
As expected, the hosts made the most of their numerical advantage by taking the lead in the 13th minute via a Pham Huu Phat penalty, before Luiz Henrique doubled their tally eight minutes later.
Brazilian striker Luiz Henrique then found the back of the net to make it 3-0 in the 37th minute, and the contest effectively ended when Dinh Kien Trung added a fourth just before the break.
But Dong Nai refused to let up in the second half and Melquiades Gomez got in on the act with his sixth goal of the campaign in the 69th minute, before Henrique grabbed his second of the evening a minute later.
Henrique, who had only scored one goal this season prior to Saturday, was beginning to show what he is truly capable of and completed his hat-trick in the 87th minute, before Huu Phat netted his side’s eighth goal in injury-time to round off the scoring.
The result, Thanh Hoa’s first loss of the campaign, also allowed Becamex Binh Duong to move top of the table on goal difference with a 2-0 win over Hai Phong at the Hai Phong Stadium.
Huynh Kesley Alves fired the visitors ahead with just six minutes of the clock, but the three points were never in the bag until the 70th minute when Mai Tien Thanh netted his side’s second to kill off Hai Phong’s hopes.
Finally, SHB Da Nang moved five spots up to fifth with a comfortable 3-0 victory over QNK Quang Nam at the Tam Ky Stadium.
After Huynh Quoc Anh had broken the deadlock in the seventh minute, Da Nang went on to double their lead in the 38th minute through a Nguyen Minh Phuong effort.
And a minute before the hour mark, Nguyen Vu Phong grabbed a third for the visitors to make sure of the win.
Saturday’s V.League 1 Results
QNK Quang Nam 0-3 SHB Da Nang
Dong Nai 8-0 Thanh Hoa
Hai Phong 0-2 Becamex Binh Duong
Football SEA 