Before entering the final round, SLNA has 10 points like Persija Jakarta (Indonesia), the team that will visit Tampines Rovers in this round. Nghe An team is behind due to secondary index.
This was a match in which SLNA only brought 16 players and was missing many key players. Before the match, assistant coach Nguyen Huy Hoang said: "We do not have the services of some important players but SLNA will try our best to give our all...".
Both teams created an exciting score chase in the first half. With home advantage, Johor Darul Ta'zim scored to take the lead in the 36th minute thanks to Safawi Rasid. And just 3 minutes later, Syafiq Ahmad doubled the gap for the home team. However, Nguyen Viet Nguyen and Ho Tuan Tai helped SLNA close the gap in the final minutes of the first half.
Entering the second half, Safiq Rahim was the one who scored to help Johor Darul Ta'zim increase the score to 3-2. This was also the final result of the match. This result made SLNA regretful in 2nd place in Group H, because in the match at the same time, Persija Jakarta won against Tampines Rovers, thereby taking the top spot with 13 points and getting a ticket to continue.
The Nghe An team will enter the knockout round as the second-placed team with the best record, if Home Utd loses to Ceres by 5 goals or more in the final match of Group F tomorrow afternoon, April 25.
