In the 81st minute, Damian Vu Thanh An was brought onto the field by coach Velizar Popov, replacing Pedro Henrique. Just a minute later, he scored with his first touch in his debut match.

From a long clearance by goalkeeper Nguyen Van Viet, Lucao challenged in the air, causing center-back Matheus Felipe to misdirect a header back towards his own goal. An sprinted past Tran Hoang Phuc, then chipped the ball over goalkeeper Patrik Le Giang before tapping it into the empty net. The Polish-Vietnamese player ran out of the penalty box, then stopped and turned towards the stands. He raised both arms in a Zlatan Ibrahimovic-style celebration.

Damian Vu Thanh An celebrates his goal as The Cong (in red) defeats Cong An TP HCM 3-0 in round 2 of the V-League 2025-2026 at Hang Day Stadium, Hanoi on 22/8/2025. Photo: Hoang Huynh.

Wesley Nata, Lucao, and Kyle Colonna joined in celebrating with their younger teammate. On the sidelines, coach Popov applauded before pointing to his head, urging his players to stay focused.

An was born in 2003 in Poland. He developed at Olimpia Grudziadz II and made his first-team debut in 5/2022 in the Polish Fourth Division. He subsequently played 41 matches, scoring two goals for the first team as a central midfielder.

In the summer of 2025, Damian came to Vietnam and tried out for The Cong. The 1.8 m tall player impressed coach Popov and was retained, along with Kyle Colonna, filling the two slots for overseas Vietnamese players without Vietnamese citizenship.

Damian's perfect debut highlighted The Cong's 3-0 victory over Cong An TP HCM at Hang Day Stadium. The home team controlled midfield, preventing the visitors from creating any surprises, unlike their 2-1 win over Hanoi FC in their opening match.

Lucao (in red) plays in The Cong's 3-0 win against Cong An TP HCM in round 2 of the V-League 2025-2026, at Hang Day Stadium, Hanoi on 22/8/2025. Photo: Hoang Huynh.

In the 19th minute, Matheus Felipe handled the ball in the penalty box, giving The Cong a penalty kick. Pedro Henrique slotted the ball into the bottom left corner, scoring despite goalkeeper Patrik Le Giang guessing the right direction.

Lucao and Truong Tien Anh had further opportunities but squandered them when facing Patrik. The Brazilian striker even hit the post in the 76th minute, despite having rounded the goalkeeper and with an open goal in front of him. It wasn't until the first minute of added time in the second half that Lucao finally got his name on the scoresheet with a decisive left-footed shot from a tight angle inside the penalty box.

Cong An TP HCM almost pulled a goal back in the third minute of added time. Nguyen Tien Linh dribbled past goalkeeper Van Viet, but his shot into the empty net was cleared off the line by Kyle Colonna.

The Cong secured their first victory in the V-League 2025-2026 after drawing 1-1 with Cong An Hanoi in their opening match. Meanwhile, Cong An TP HCM showed several errors, returning to reality after their surprise victory against Hanoi FC.

Starting Lineups:

The Cong: Van Viet, Truong Tien Anh, Bui Tien Dung, Phan Tuan Tai, Kyle Colonna, Dinh Viet Tu, Khuat Van Khang, Le Quoc Nhat Nam, Wesley Nata, Pedro Henrique, Lucao Vinicius

Cong An TP HCM: Patrik Le Giang, Vo Huy Toan, Matheus Felipe, Khong Minh Gia Bao, Le Quang Hung, Endrick, Nguyen Thai Quoc Cuong, Tran Hoang Phuc, Duc Phu, Schorr Utzig, Tien Linh.

Hieu Luong