CAHN's big win over Da Nang, Hanoi's unexpected loss to Hai Phong are notable developments of round 17.
CAHN Club and SHB Da Nang Club have faced each consecutively recently (the postponed round 13 match and now round 17 of V.League 1). In the postponed round 13 match, the Han River team caused considerable difficulty for CAHN and only suffered a 0-1 defeat.
However, when they met again in the round 17 match, SHB Da Nang Club could not hold firm and suffered a 1-5 defeat. The emphatic victory helped Coach Polking and his team increase their points to 44, temporarily creating a 10-point gap from the chasing opponent behind, Viettel Military.
Hanoi Club is aiming to return to the top 3, thereby opening hope to compete for the top positions. However, this team's ambition received a "cold shower" at Lach Tray Stadium against the home team Hai Phong.
The Port team had not known victory since round 12 and desperately needed a win to find a safe position on the ranking table. At the crucial moment, Coach Chu Dinh Nghiem and his team secured a "golden" 1-0 victory over a team with quite high form recently, with the sole goal scored by Huu Nam (79th minute).
PVF-CAND Club was determined to earn 3 points against the evenly matched opponent Becamex Ho Chi Minh City. Because if victorious, Coach Tran Tien Dai and his team would make a big step forward in the relegation battle with opponents in the same group. However, the home team could not achieve the goal with only a 1-1 draw, in a match where Thanh Nhan failed to successfully execute a penalty situation (but he redeemed himself with the equalizing 1-1 goal later).
With one point gained, PVF-CAND Club has not escaped the bottom of the table but has leveled the gap with the team above SHB Da Nang (both with 12 points). The door to survival remains open for the bottom group clubs because the current points of the teams are very tight.
Da Nang Coach takes responsibility after the heavy defeat to CAHN