Opportunity to reach the final round of U17 Song Lam Nghe An

Need to strengthen confidence

Participating in the 2024 National U17 qualifying round, U17 Song Lam Nghe An is in Group B with U17 Hoang Anh Gia Lai, U17 Quang Ngai, U17 SHB Da Nang and U17 Hong Linh Ha Tinh. At the end of the first leg, U17 Song Lam Nghe An won 6 points, after 2 wins and 2 losses, temporarily ranked 3rd in Group B.

In the first loss against Hoang Anh Gia Lai, coach Phan Tien Hoai's team played quite well. This team mainly used short passing with coherent low passes. In contrast, Hoang Anh Gia Lai applied a defensive counter-attacking strategy. In which, the mountain town team's powerful weapon came from set pieces. This helped them score the opening goal in the 58th minute of the match.

After conceding the goal, U17 Song Lam Nghe An succeeded in imposing their style of play on their opponents and created numerous opportunities to equalize the score. Notably, the away team was also denied a penalty by the referee when many spectators believed that Tan Dung had been fouled by the opposing defender in the penalty area. With many missed opportunities, U17 Song Lam Nghe An had to accept defeat with a minimal score against the home team Hoang Anh Gia Lai.

However, we also need to face the truth that the U17 Song Lam Nghe An strikers in this year's tournament do not have the necessary courage and confidence when only having to face opponents of equal level.

This was even more evident in the defeat against the top team U17 Hong Linh Ha Tinh. Although coach Phan Tien Hoai's team scored the opening goal of the match, the immaturity of the Nghe An strikers helped U17 Hong Linh Ha Tinh make a successful comeback, thereby winning the final score with a score of 3-1.

The defeat against the Hong Mountain team will be a valuable lesson for coach Phan Tien Hoai's students to play more maturely in the remaining stages of the qualifying round. And what the coaching staff of U17 Song Lam Nghe An needs to do for the team at this time is to strengthen the confidence and fighting spirit of the students.

If they can do this, U17 Song Lam Nghe An will have every chance to reach the final round of the 2024 National U17 Tournament.

Opportunity to move on

Having lost 2 matches in the first leg of the 2024 National U17 qualifying round, U17 Song Lam Nghe An is now 2 points behind the second-placed team U17 Hoang Anh Gia Lai. This gap can be completely filled if coach Phan Tien Hoai's team overcomes the weaknesses encountered in the first leg.
However, the necessary condition for U17 Nghe An is to win against the two teams considered the weakest in the group, U17 Quang Ngai and U17 SHB Da Nang. This is not beyond the reach of coach Phan Tien Hoai's students. Because in the previous meeting, U17 Song Lam Nghe An played completely better than the two above opponents. Therefore, if U17 Song Lam Nghe An can demonstrate efficiency in their playing style, then owning 6 points in the second leg is not too difficult.

In particular, in the confrontation with direct competitor Hoang Anh Gia Lai, U17 Song Lam Nghe An needs to promote its own strengths, then it is still full of hope to win all 3 points against the home team.

However, in the worst case, U17 Song Lam Nghe An only wins 12 points after 8 matches, they still have a chance to pass the qualifying round. Because according to the competition format of the 2024 National U17 Tournament, in the qualifying round, there are a total of 22 participating teams, taking place in 4 localities. The teams are divided into 4 groups, including 2 groups of 4 teams and 2 groups of 5 teams; playing a round-robin (home and away) in the host locality, calculating the ranking points in each group. The four first-placed teams, four second-placed teams and three third-placed teams with the best results in the four groups will be selected to compete in the final round.

Based on the scoring opportunities of the teams in each group, with 12 points, U17 Song Lam Nghe An can still be among the 3 teams with excellent achievements to enter the final round of the 2024 National U17 Tournament.

However, Nghe An audiences still expect U17 Song Lam Nghe An to play better in the second leg, thereby securing an official ticket to the qualifying round./.