After Hanoi was held to a draw by Binh Duong at Go Dau Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City has the opportunity to regain the top spot, if they win 3 points against Khanh Hoa. Therefore, coach Chung Hae-seong and his team are very determined to play away at the 19.8 stadium.
Meanwhile, with a poor record this season, Khanh Hoa is in need of a win to escape the second-to-last position on the rankings. This is a match in which coach Vo Dinh Tan and his team have an advantage when the foreign player duo Vinicius and Matias of Ho Chi Minh City did not play.
The surprise of the match happened in the 2nd minute, Pham Trung Tinh of the home team quickly seized the opportunity to open the score. Khanh Hoa's midfielder escaped and broke the offside trap, cushioned his heart to defeat goalkeeper Thanh Thang.
Being behind, Ho Chi Minh City pushed up their formation to find an equalizer. However, the absence of Vinicius and Matias at the same time is making it very difficult for Ho Chi Minh City to launch an attack. The away team's decisive passes were easily neutralized by Khanh Hoa's defense.
In the 30th minute, midfielder Thanh Binh of Ho Chi Minh City had a shot from outside the penalty area, the ball went hard and dangerously, causing goalkeeper Tuan Manh to drop all his ball but could not block it. The goal helped Ho Chi Minh City break the deadlock against a determined Khanh Hoa.
However, coach Chung Hae-seong's team was at a disadvantage in the second half when Cong Hien received a red card and left the field, after a rather dangerous foul on the Provincial boss.
Having to play as a 10-man team, Ho Chi Minh City has brought a low formation to their home field to protect goalkeeper Thanh Thang's goal. Meanwhile, Khanh Hoa tried to raise their squad to take advantage of the opportunity to find a goal. However, the strikers of the coastal city team could not create many opportunities.
Not only that, the home team also had to receive another bitter fruit in the 89th minute. From a corner kick from the right wing of Ho Chi Minh City, Huu Tuan had a volley, the ball hit the ground high with an unpredictable trajectory, causing Tuan Manh to lose direction and have to go into the net to pick the ball up for the second time.
In the final minutes of the match, Ho Chi Minh City successfully defended the score 2-1. Coach Chung Hae-seong and his team had a spectacular comeback, thereby regaining Hanoi's top spot.
After round 8 of V.League 2019, Ho Chi Minh City has 19 points, 1 point more than the second-placed team, Hanoi, while Khanh Hoa officially fell to the bottom of the rankings with 5 points. In the match at the same time, Thanh Hoa defeated Quang Nam with a score of 3-1 to rise to 11th place.
