Can Tho - The lonely "stand-in"

Of the four, only Thanh Cong and Quang Bao are directly in charge, Quang Truong is registered as Hai Phong's technical director, and Huu Thang is the President of Ho Chi Minh City Club.

If Thanh Cong came to Saigon team from the beginning of the season and was promoted to head coach from round 17, Mr. Bao came to Can Tho when V-League 2018 had only 6 rounds left.

Difficult mission

Coach Vu Quang Bao returned to Can Tho when the plan to use "HAGL 2.0 version" this season by Mr. Tran Minh Tam - Chairman of Can Tho Lottery Club went bankrupt.

Initially, the leaders of XSKT Can Tho hoped that with new coach Dinh Hong Vinh, a new player from Pho Nui, the team would deploy HAGL-style technical play to attract spectators to the stadium.

Coach Quang Bao is "alone" in the relegation battle. Photo: Internet

But when seniors Quang Tinh, Vu Anh Tuan, Ut Cuong, Phuong Tam could not fulfill the wishes of the coaching board, and central midfielder Huu Dung was soon recalled by FLC Thanh Hoa, XSKT Can Tho Club could only draw and lose.

The replacement, CEO Nguyen Thanh Danh, only sat in the head coach's chair for exactly 1 round... mainly waiting for the club's leadership to negotiate with Mr. Bao about taking over the team for the remaining 6 rounds.

Mr. Bao "kham" came to his old team Can Tho when foreign player Patiyo was suspended, his favorite student Vu Anh Tuan transferred to play for Ho Chi Minh City, the transfer fee was not paid on time, and up to 10 players went on strike and did not practice.

The worries about food, clothing, rice, and money weighed heavily on the leaders of this poor football team from the West. Starting to fall into a "vortex" from the 13th round, by the 20th round, XSKT Can Tho had to hold the red light and for 3 consecutive rounds, the Western team could not improve its position.

Mr. Bao's plan to rescue XSKT Can Tho is to try to catch up with Nam Dinh, hoping that the final match of the season will be against the opponent Thanh Nam to make a comeback to win 13th place, to enter the play-off. He determined that the chance is 50/50 and is willing to bet his honor on this difficult and risky "mission".

Bad luck follows

It seemed that XSKT Can Tho would escape the bottom position when Mr. Bao returned to Tam Ky to face Quang Nam, the team he used to coach. When Patiyo had his sentence reduced to enter the field and Wander Luiz scored early, but in the end they let Warley score a double at the end of the match to steal 3 points. Meanwhile, the opponent Nam Dinh got 1 point at Thanh Hoa stadium in the extra minutes.

In this round, Quang Tinh and the XSKT Can Tho players had 10 minutes of extra players but the field was slippery due to the rain, so they could not reverse the early loss by Tien Linh of B.Binh Duong. Meanwhile, Pereira Diogo Junior of Nam Dinh scored a penalty on Lach Tray field in the 90th minute, increasing the gap to 3 points.

Quang Tinh is currently a pillar of XSKT Can Tho, struggling to gain points. Photo: Internet

Mr. Bao has gone halfway with 3 consecutive losses against SHB.Da Nang, Quang Nam and recently B.Binh Duong. Their next opponents are Hai Phong (home), Hanoi (away) and the visiting team Nam Dinh, while Coach Van Sy and his students have the advantage of 2 home matches against HAGL, B.Binh Duong before going to Can Tho.

Psychologically, after the points salvaged in the final minutes of the match, the Thanh Nam players are much more excited.

If they cannot maintain a 3-point gap with their direct rival Nam Dinh before playing the "reverse final", V-League will once again have to say goodbye to the Mekong Delta team.

Because the first leg at Thien Truong Stadium ended in a 0-0 draw, if the score difference is only 3 points, there is still hope for Mr. Bao and his students, although not much. If the two teams have the same number of points, the head-to-head record is calculated first, and if they win this match, Can Tho will be ranked higher.

After Dong Nai, Dong Thap and Long An have left the V-League and now Can Tho is facing a big challenge. But looking at the way Nam Dinh and XSKT Can Tho are slowly reaching the finish line, people are seeing Mr. Bao "lonely".