The 1.9 m tall goalkeeper played so well, HAGL drew with Hanoi to escape the bottom of the table.

Goalkeeper Trung Kien's excellent performance helped HAGL hold Hanoi FC to a 0-0 draw, thereby earning their first point in the 2025-2026 V-League.

Goalkeeper Trung Kien saved HAGL twice

The 0-3 defeat in the opening round not only caused HAGL to sink to the bottom of the table, but also caused coach Le Quang Trai and his team to face skepticism. With a young and weak squad, plus a very difficult schedule (having to face Hanoi FC, CAHN FC and Ho Chi Minh City Police FC in the next rounds), the mountain town team is at risk of being stuck in last place.

Unlike HAGL, although Hanoi FC also lost the opening round, they still have superior strength thanks to maintaining a stable human frame combined with foreign players. Coach Makoto Teguramori's team lost 0-1 to HAGL at Hang Day Stadium last season due to a careless start. Therefore, the capital team did not let the mistake repeat itself, when they rushed to attack HAGL in the match on the evening of August 23 at Hang Day Stadium.

Hanoi Club (white shirt) puts pressure on HAGL

PHOTO: MINH TU

While Hanoi FC attacked with all their might, HAGL retreated to defend in large numbers with their familiar style under coach Le Quang Trai. With 5 attacking players such as Daniel Passira, Luiz Fernando, Tuan Hai, Van Quyet, Xuan Tu, the home team controlled the game and pressed HAGL. However, similar to the 1-2 loss to Ho Chi Minh City Police FC on the opening day, Hanoi FC's problem was the speed of coordination.

Van Quyet and his teammates easily passed the ball past HAGL's midfield, but Hanoi's passes in the opponent's penalty area were all inaccurate.

HAGL defended strongly in the first half, when the defenders played aggressively and covered well. When the defense was overcome, there was still a wall named Tran Trung Kien in the goal.

Trung Kien saves the game brilliantly

PHOTO: MINH TU

HAGL's 1.9m tall goalkeeper dived to save Tuan Hai's cross-angle shot in the 19th minute, then flew to block a header from only about 7m away right before the first half ended. This was also the half that showed HAGL's resilience and tenacity, when they withstood the pressure from Hanoi.

Calculation

The upper hand in the second half continued to belong to Hanoi FC. In the context of being forced to play on the field and having to lose players (Phuoc Bao and Rodrigo left the field due to injury), HAGL only had the solution of concentrating on defense to keep their net safe.

In the 50th minute, Van Quyet escaped very quickly on the left wing, but in a face-to-face situation with Trung Kien, the captain of the Hanoi team could not finish the goal with a shot that was not dangerous enough.

In the second half, HAGL had some notable counter-attacks. "Strange Bird" Duy Tam (born in 2002) became the highlight, with his clever runs and touches, opening the way for Conceicao, Marciel and Ryan Ha to run up. However, like Hanoi FC, HAGL coordinated relatively slowly, allowing the opponent to retreat and anticipate.

HAGL (blue shirt) tried hard to get 1 point.

PHOTO: MINH TU

HAGL's most dangerous attack occurred in the 83rd minute, when Du Hoc carried the ball straight into the penalty area and shot diagonally, but goalkeeper Van Chuan caught it.

Four minutes earlier, Hanoi FC also coordinated well when Van Xuan passed the ball to Van Quyet to run down the left flank of HAGL's defense. The captain born in 1991 fired a left-footed shot, but the ball was not dangerous enough to defeat goalkeeper Trung Kien.

The drama happened in the 90+1 minute, when Hai Long ran past the HAGL defender and headed the ball into a difficult corner. Goalkeeper Trung Kien was defeated, but center back Jairo Rodrigues appeared on the goal line in time to make a spectacular clearance.

In the 90+7 minute, center back Thanh Chung intercepted Hai Long's pass and then tapped the ball into Trung Kien's net. However, after 10 minutes of VAR reviewing the situation, the decision was made to cancel the goal due to Thanh Chung's offside.

Drawing 0-0 at Hanoi FC, HAGL has 1 point after 2 matches, temporarily rising to the second to last position. Hanoi FC is still in 11th place with 1 point after 2 matches, but is ranked above HAGL due to a better goal difference.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thu-mon-cao-19-m-choi-qua-hay-hagl-hoa-nghet-tho-ha-noi-de-thoat-day-bang-185250823171918346.htm