Navibank cash in on Cup win

Nerves of steel: Navibank Sai Gon players celebrate after their penalty shootout victory over Becamex Binh Duong. Navibank won 10-9 to book a semi-final berth in the National Cup which will be held on August 10. — VNA/VNS Photo

HA NOI — Navibank Sai Gon defeated Becamex Binh Duong 10-9 after a penalty shootout on Saturday to secure a berth in the National Cup semi-finals.

Coach Mai Duc Chung of Navibank Sai Gon had to play in defence for his team due to a number of injuries and suspensions.

The first half saw Binh Duong dominate on home turf with foreign trio Kubheka Philani, Leandro Da Luz and Joseph Obina all testing Navibank goalie Phan Van Santos. Philani opened the scoring in the 26th minute.

However, Navibank seemed to wake up in the second half and secured an equaliser in the 70th minute through Elokan Endene who stole past the Binh Duong defence to score.

Coach Nunes R. Manuel of Binh Duong made several substitutions to try and grab a late winner and ended the match playing four up front, but to no avail.

In the shootout, Navibank's players all converted there spot kicks successfully while Leandro, who signed for Binh Duong as part of a US$700,000 transfer, missed.

"I'm really satisfied with the result and the way my players did today. We were missing several key members of our team and Binh Duong are very strong. It is a big success which will encourage us for the rest of the season but we still need more time to grow, said Chung.

His team will meet Thanh Hoa in the semi-finals. Thanh Hoa also made it to the final four after beating Ninh Binh 3-1 in a penalty shootout. Their match finished 1-1 after 90 minutes.

In other games, former V-League champions Song lam Nghe An trounced Sai Gon Xuan Thanh 4-2 and are to play Hoang Anh Gia Lai in the next round on August 10.

Hoang Anh Gia Lai earlier won 3-1 against Khatoco Khanh Hoa in the fourth quarter-final match in Nha Trang. — VNS

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HCM City teams vow to stop the rot

Southern pride: Vo Phi Thuong of Navibank Sai Gon challenges for the ball with a member of Khatoco Khanh Hoa during a match at the HCM City's Football Federation tournament. — VNA/VNS Photo Quang Nhut

HCM CITY — HCM City football has shown intentions of putting a stop to its shameful results over the last two years at local football competitions as HCM City and Navibank Sai Gon football clubs have revamped their teams for the new season.

During the last weekend of the 2009 V-League season, the city football witnessed the relegation of two clubs.

Sai Gon United was relegated to the Second Division despite a 2-0 win over Hoa Phat Ha Noi in the last match, and one day later, HCM City also suffered the same fate with a 3-2 defeat by Binh Duong.

There was no escaping the fact that city football had no representative in the 2010 V-League until Navibank Bank surprisingly bought the Military Zone 4 football club. They renamed it Navibank Sai Gon and chose Thong Nhat Stadium as its home ground.

However, Navibank Sai Gon was struggling at the bottom of the table throughout the season.

The club was relegated, but the fact that there were six fewer clubs in the First Division operating as a business handed Navibank a play-off with Quang Ninh. They escaped from relegation with a 2-0 win.

After being demoted to the First Division, HCM City continued its poor performance and had a disappointing season and only until the last round did the club escape from demotion.

Change for better

But the upcoming 2011 V-League season, the so-called professional football season, could be a different story as city-based clubs have made moves to build their teams that not only have survived the relegation but also have enough ability to move into the top half of the ranking.

Navibank splashed out a considerable amount of money on players, bringing in qualified strikers Nguyen Quang Hai from Khanh Hoa, Brazilian-Vietnamese striker Huynh Kesley Alves from Binh Duong and midfielder Luong Van Duoc Em from Dong Thap.

While Hai is the most prolific local striker last season with 13 goals, veteran Huynh Kesley has stamped his authority onto the V-League with his vast experience. Duoc Em was considered a promising young player last season.

"With new players joining the team and good preparation, we will try to finish the 2011 V-League at least in the middle of the table. We hope that the worries over the relegation will not be repeated," said Mai Duc Chung, head coach of Navibank Sai Gon.

By recruiting a foreign coach and bringing in some new faces, HCM City, the successor of the famous Sai Gon Port, has also made its intentions clear that they do not want to be a contender for the relegation in the next nine months.

The club recently signed a contract with Croatian coach Vjeran Simunic and hired Singaporean coach Robert Lim as a technical consultant. They have also recruited foreign players Lima and Cokolic from fellow club TDC Binh Duong.

Coach Simunic said that his team was ready for the new season. He believes the club will not have to face a battle to avoid relegation, as they did last season. — VNS

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Navibank Saigon holds on to V-League spot

Navibank Saigon beat Quang Ninh 2-0 in a play-off match at Da Nang’s Chi Lang Stadium on Sunday to retain its V-League berth for the next season.

An overall superior performance and two goals in five minutes midway through the second half helped ensure that Ho Chi Minh City still had a representative in the country’s top-tier football league. The squad was formerly known as the Fourth Military Zone.

While a V-League spot is valuable, Navibank Saigon faces an uphill task if it wants to do well in the next season.

Team coach Mai Duc Chung said after the match, “I’m not sure whether I will stay with the club. However, improvement is very necessary. HCMC football has being going downhill a lot.

“If the officials in charge don’t contribute to improving the squad, it will be impossible for Navibank Saigon to avoid relegation to First Division at the end of the next season because the 2011 season will be more severe.”

Club owner Nguyen Vinh Tho said it was great that the club could stay on in the V-League.

“Navibank Saigon will be strengthened. Some good players have agreed to play for the club,” Tho said. “We work for the fans, so they can trust us.”

Tho also said the club would discuss an agreement to have Chung stay with the club.

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Navibank Saigon secure a place in V-League next season

HCMC – V-League team Navibank Saigon beat First Division team Quang Ninh Coal 2-0 in their V-League relegation play-off at Chi Lang Stadium in the central coast city of Danang on Sunday to secure a place in the top league next season.

The two teams started the game slowly and played aggressively, hoping for their opponent’s mistakes but they both could not change the status quo. The first half ended scoreless despite their players created some attacks to their opponent’s defense line.

The game was the different story after the break. Navibank Saigon dominated the game as their forwarders put more pressure on Quang Ninh Coal defending line. Nguyen Van Khai surprisingly opened the score for the V-League team in the 61st minute following an error from Quang Ninh Coal keeper.

Navibank Saigon continued to dominate the game with many opportunities and Leandro De Oliveira finalized the game at 2-0 just five minutes later.

Both Quang Ninh Coal’s defensive and offensive moves were strong in the dying minutes while Navibank Saigon played defensively and relied on rare counter attacks aimed to protect the score.

Despite strong attacks, Quang Ninh Coal players failed to convert any opportunities into goals while Navibank Saigon succeeded in controlling the game. 

The V-League – PetroVietnam Gas 2010 finished two weeks ago. Hanoi T&T won the V-League title, Haiphong were runners-up and Dong Thap were third while bottom-placed team Nam Dinh dropped out of the V-League and Navibank Saigon secured the play-off ticket.

In the First-Division championship that finished at the same time, Hanoi ACB, who claimed the First Division title, won promotion to V-League next year and second-placed Quang Ninh Coal secured the play-off position. Tien Giang relegated to the Second Division in the next season

Next season the V-League will have 14 teams and the First Division will have the same number of teams, one more than now. The new season will begin in December with the Super Cup match when V-League champions Hanoi T&T will meet National Cup winners Song Lam Nghe An.

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