Five highlights of V-League 2014 Round 3

The third round of the V-League Eximbank 2014 took place last weekend and featured a number of surprises. Let’s take a look at the main highlights of this round of play.

An unlucky round for the hosts

Not a single team won victory on its home pitch during this round of play. Hanoi T&T and Song Lam Nghe An suffered disappointing losses while SHB Da Nang and Dong Tam Long An both squandered their leads during the last minutes of play.

Former champions fall

After witnessing the 1-3 defeat of defending V-League champions Hanoi T&T by XM The Vissai Ninh Binh on January 22, football fans were once again shocked by Song Lam Nghe An’s 1-2 loss to Thanh Hoa at home three days later.

Becamex Binh Duong and SHB Da Nang failed to bag full points against weaker opponents, while two other former champions, Dong Tam Long An and Hoang Anh Gia Lai, also shared points in 2-2 draws.

It is clear that the former champions are facing strong resistance from their rivals on the way to defending the title or regaining past glory.

Thanh Hoa record upset of title favourite

Thanh Hoa have been demonstrating their great ambition for this year’s championship title, turning in stunning performances from the very beginning of the 2014 season. After shocking everyone with a second-round victory over SHB Da Nang, they continued to make shockwaves by beating title favourites Song Lam Nghe An 2-1 in their third-round game. This victory also helped Thanh Hoa, with seven points, snatch the top spot from Song Lam Nghe An.

A record number of draws

The third round saw the greatest number of draws of any match day since the beginning of this year’s V-League season. Four of the six clashes finished without a victor.

A ‘hat trick’ of draws for XM Vicem Hai Phong

XM Vicem Hai Phong was the only team to record three draws during the first three rounds of the V-League Eximbank 2014. The team drew 0-0 with Thanh Hoa in the first round and tied 2-2 with Dong Tam Long An in the second, before sharing points with QNK Quang Nam in the third round of play.

Hai Phong currently rank ninth in the provisional V-League standings with three points.

Source: Nhan Dan

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