Ho Chi Minh City Police defeated Hanoi FC 3-1 in V-League 2026-2027 thanks to two goals from Nguyen Tien Linh

Ho Chi Minh City Striker Nguyen Tien Linh scored the opening goal, helping Ho Chi Minh City Police Club defeat Hanoi FC 3-1 in round 1 of V-League 2026-2027, on the evening of September 5.

Because Thong Nhat Stadium is being renovated to prepare for the National Sports Festival, Ho Chi Minh City Police chose Go Dau Stadium as its home stadium. Before the match, 4 stadium lights could not be turned on, causing the match to take place about 10 minutes later than expected to fix the problem.

This season, in addition to the V-League and National Cup, Ho Chi Minh City Police also participates in the Shopee Cup, so they strengthen their forces at all levels. Thanks to that, they possess a strong force with national players who have just won the ASEAN Cup such as Le Giang Patrik, Khong Minh Gia Bao, Nguyen Nhat Minh, naturalized striker Olaha Manh Duc, Ngo Dang Khoa, Williams Minh Hoang... However, the team just went through a disastrous Super Cup match, losing 0-5 to CAHN.

Next to Hanoi FC - the team with the core of the three new ASEAN Cup champions including Thanh Chung, Hai Long, Xuan Manh, Ho Chi Minh City Police were weak at the beginning of the match. However, with a tight defense, they still stood firm against the away team's attacks.

In the 16th minute, Tien Linh escaped and defeated goalkeeper Quan Van Chuan, but VAR reported offside. 10 minutes later, from a cross from overseas Vietnamese player Tran Lenn, Tien Linh flew to head in the penalty area. The ball passed through Van Chuan's reach and into the net, opening the score for the hosts. In the 33rd minute, Tien Linh had a chance to face the goalkeeper but his shot went over the bar.

The Capital team dominated the match, but strikers like Van Tung, Jung Andrew, and Yuval Sade were inaccurate in their shots. At the beginning of the second half, Yuval Sade skillfully dribbled the ball, eliminated three defenders in the penalty area and then shot hard into the far corner, but goalkeeper Le Giang Patrik excellently deflected it.

Le Giang's save gave his teammates more confidence. And just three minutes later, from a quick counterattack, Nguyen Thai Quoc Cuong shot straight at the goal, the ball dangerously hitting Van Chuan's net to increase the score 2-0.

Le Giang, in addition to having good reflexes, sometimes makes mistakes. In the 65th minute, from Hung Dung's cross, the goalkeeper rushed out and misjudged the fall point, allowing Jung Andrew to head the ball into the net to shorten the score to 1-2 for Hanoi. But then, the new ASEAN Cup champion made another excellent save to help the home team stand firm.

In the 82nd minute, Jason Steven kicked the ball off the Hanoi FC defender, changing direction and into the net, setting the score 3-1 for HCMC CA.

"I'm very happy that the team won after the forgettable Super Cup match a few days ago," Ho Chi Minh City Police coach Arthur Diles said at the post-match press conference. "We scored a goal thanks to luck, but luck doesn't come naturally if we don't create opportunities to finish. The two goals from Tien Linh and Quoc Cuong were both great."

Meanwhile, coach Harry Kewell admitted that Hanoi FC was not only unlucky, but also inaccurate in decisive situations, both passing and finishing. "We had many opportunities, but didn't take advantage of them well. Ho Chi Minh City Police were the opposite. That's the difference. The team needs to improve the quality of the decisive balls, like how the opponent did very well with the cross and the finish in the opening goal," he said.

Duc Dong