AFC Champions League Two
Brazilian striker Brenner scored a hat-trick while Romulo netted twice and Caio Cesar, Kevin Pham Ba and Ly Cong Hoang Anh were on target before Leung Chun Pong’s late own goal but the win was not enough to overhaul Ratchaburi to finish second in the standings.
Ratchaburi’s 2-0 loss to already-qualified Gamba Osaka means the Thai League 1 side advance in second place ahead of Mauro Jeronimo’s side having scored more goals than Nam Dinh, who exit the competition alongside Eastern.
Nam Dinh went in front with fewer than two minutes on the clock, Caio Cesar bundling the ball over the line from close range after Ba’s initial effort was saved by goalkeeper Liu Fu Yuen.
Two minutes later the hosts had doubled their advantage when Ba found the target, the France-born defender curling in a left-footed shot from the edge of the area that bent around Liu.
By the 10th minute Nam Dinh had scored their third when Hoang Anh latched onto Brenner’s perfectly weighted through pass to slip the ball between Liu’s legs and into the goal.
Eastern held out for another seven minutes before Nam Dinh scored again when Romulo struck from distance to beat Liu.
And two minutes later the fifth arrived in fortuitous circumstances, Romulo hitting a shot that came back off the crossbar only for the rebound to fall at his feet and his second attempt beat Liu via a deflection.
Percy Tau was inches away from a sixth for a rampant Nam Dinh when he thumped his 21st minute shot against the crossbar from 16 yards out.
With three minutes left in the half, Nam Dinh struck again when Tau nudged the ball towards Brenner, who netted from seven yards out despite slipping as he made contact.
Brenner’s downward header bounced off the turf to meet the crossbar in the 51st minute while the Brazilian scored the seventh from the penalty spot in the 59th minute after Leung’s handball.
Brenner completed his hat-trick when he headed in Tau’s corner from the left in the 64th minute while Caio Cesar was denied a second when he hit the post from distance with 15 minutes left.
The ninth came when Leung slid in to put the ball in his own net in the 92nd minute but it was not enough to earn Nam Dinh a place in the last 16.
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