Overseas Vietnamese from France shine, the 'tower' plays extremely well: Nam Dinh Club comes from behind to defeat Hai Phong

Nam Dinh FC defeated Hai Phong FC 2-1 in the opening day of the V-League, with Kevin Pham Ba scoring the winning goal in the final minutes.

Nam Dinh FC started slowly

The match between away team Hai Phong at home ground Thien Truong in round 1 of V-League 2025 - 2026 (6:00 p.m. on August 16) is considered a tough challenge for Nam Dinh Club.

Although Hai Phong FC of coach Chu Dinh Nghiem is not a championship candidate, it is a tough and hard-to-beat team. Last season, with a patchwork squad, Hai Phong FC was in the relegation group throughout the first leg, then accelerated strongly in the second leg to finish 6th overall.

Nam Dinh Club (white shirt) faced difficulties with the disciplined and tight tactics of the visiting team Hai Phong.

PHOTO: NAM DINH CLUB

The unpredictability of Hai Phong FC was shown in the match against the home team Nam Dinh. With a defensive counter-attacking style of play, fierce high pressing and smooth passing, Mr. Chu Dinh Nghiem's students made Nam Dinh FC deadlocked throughout the first half. The Hai Phong team did not attack much, but sharply and directly thanks to the ability of Luiz Antonio, a foreign player who played quite well last season at Thanh Hoa FC.

The stalemate was broken in the 32nd minute thanks to Luiz Antonio himself. From a smooth and flexible cross-field pass from Hai Phong, the ball was flipped to Antonio who made a powerful diagonal header, defeating goalkeeper Nguyen Manh.

After conceding the goal, Nam Dinh Club accelerated to put pressure. However, facing a tight and determined defense led by goalkeeper Dinh Trieu and mainstay center-back Tien Dung, Hai Phong blocked Nam Dinh's strikers well. The home team could only turn the ball over from the two wings, allowing strikers with good physique to rush in and head the ball. However, in the first half of the match, this approach of Nam Dinh Club could not make it difficult for the defense of the visiting team Hai Phong.

The challenge was even more complicated for Nam Dinh FC when central midfielder Tuan Anh left the field due to injury, causing the midfield to lose its smoothness.

Hero Kevin Pham Ba

In the second half, Nam Dinh Club increased the pressure, but Hai Phong also pressed proactively to prevent the opponent from developing the ball, instead of retreating deep to defend passively.

Nam Dinh's 2.06 m tall player

Special celebration of the home team

Pressure from Nam Dinh's two wings equalized in the 68th minute. In a situation where the ball was long towards the penalty area, striker Kyle Hudlin (2.06 m tall) fought fiercely against the pressure of two Hai Phong defenders. Despite being closely marked, Hudlin still managed to pass the ball to midfielder Hoang Anh, creating conditions for his teammate to rush in and shoot past goalkeeper Dinh Trieu.

Coach Vu Hong Viet's decision to put Hudlin on the field has been extremely effective. Only when there was a tower over 2 meters high on the field, did the home team Nam Dinh's crosses find a reliable "address".

Nam Dinh FC pressed the field in the final minutes and reaped sweet rewards. In the 88th minute, Kyle Hudlin headed the ball into the wall for Marlos Brenner to run down. With a turn, Brenner eliminated the Hai Phong defender and then curled the ball. Goalkeeper Dinh Trieu pushed the ball right into Kevin Pham Ba's reach, and with a precise close-range finish, the defender of mixed Vietnamese and French blood helped the home team Nam Dinh complete the comeback to win 2-1.

Initially, referee Nguyen Trung Kien received advice from VAR that Brenner may have handled the ball before finishing. However, when reviewing the 4-minute slow-motion replay, the referee determined that the ball hit the junction between Brenner's chest and shoulder. The goal was recognized, helping Nam Dinh FC take all 3 points on the opening day.

Defeating Hai Phong Club, defending champion Nam Dinh started V-League with a victory.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/viet-kieu-phap-toa-sang-toa-thap-choi-cuc-hay-clb-nam-dinh-nguoc-dong-danh-bai-hai-phong-185250816174329166.htm