V-League bottom
(Baonghean.vn) - At the end of the first leg of V-League 2023 - 2024, positions 11 to 13 all have 13 points, meaning that after 1 round, positions can be reversed and it is impossible to say which team will fall to the bottom of the table.
The bottom 3 teams include Khanh Hoa (9 points, goal difference -10), The Cong Viettel (13 points, -8), Hoang Anh Gia Lai (13 points, -7). With the same 13 points, Song Lam Nghe An temporarily ranked 11th, due to a goal difference of -4. Ranked one place higher is Hong Linh Ha Tinh with 14 points, meaning they are only 1 point ahead of the 3 teams below, equivalent to a draw.
The biggest surprise belongs to The Cong Viettel when the army team finished 3rd, which was the top team last season, now falls into the relegation zone. The name Hoang Anh Gia Lai is not a new name in the bottom group, because the mountain town team has long "spent their youth" to stay in this difficult group. The coastal city team Khanh Hoa is ranked last, which is easy to predict because of the countless difficulties in terms of personnel and funding that they have always had to face throughout their existence.
What needs to be said about the three bottom-ranked teams mentioned above is that The Cong Viettel and Hoang Anh Gia Lai just won quite convincingly in the first leg of round 13 and showed that these teams will not "stay still" at the bottom of the rankings like they are now.
The Cong Viettel just defeated the defending champion Cong An Ha Noi with a convincing score of 3-0 at Hang Day Stadium, showing that Mr. Duc Thang has found the winning formula for his team after the recent unsuccessful initial matches.
Hoang Anh Gia Lai with coach Vu Tien Thanh won two consecutive matches in round 12 and 13 thanks to strengthening the defense, creating a solid foundation for the attack to flourish and be effective. Khanh Hoa will also not easily accept being "beaten up" or "losing points" in the second leg, because as head coach Tran Trong Binh said, "the team will be reinforced" in the second leg to escape the unwanted "bottom of the table" situation.
In preparation for the second leg, V-League teams, according to the tournament regulations, are allowed to add more players (including a full list of 30 players, 3 players can be replaced/3 times, 3 foreign players can be replaced/added...). That's why Dinh Bac returned from Quang Nam to Hanoi FC on loan, Van Nam also returned from Quang Nam to the First Division team PVF-CAND, or Tuan Anh recently returned to Thep Xanh Nam Dinh and especially a series of teams replacing foreign players such as Hoang Anh Gia Lai, Binh Duong, The Cong Viettel, Hanoi FC, Hanoi Police...
There is a detail about the fierceness and "fierce" competition in V-League in round 13 when many players were injured at different levels such as Tuan Hai (Hanoi FC), Van Viet (Song Lam Nghe An) or Viet Anh (Hanoi Police). Of course, the serious mistake of Tang Tien (Quang Nam) or the immature mistake of Van Huy (Song Lam Nghe An), the 2 yellow cards of Lucas (Nam Dinh Steel Blue) leading to the red card all originated from too much pressure in the match and the above names did not have enough awareness and proper behavior to overcome difficulties, to be "eliminated" from the match according to the law.
Besides the behaviors that need to be criticized and disciplined properly, it is also necessary to see that V-League is improving itself according to the set requirements and the teams and players themselves cannot be satisfied with the reality.
With that spirit, the author believes that the 3 teams at the bottom of the first leg will do everything they can to escape the current situation and they have every basis to do what they want. The worrying thing, unfortunately, will be related to the Nghe An teams including Song Lam Nghe An and Hong Linh Ha Tinh, when they seem to have no significant movements to supplement their forces in the second leg.
There is news that Song Lam Nghe An will be supplemented with some players returning from the 2024 U19 Tournament, while the foreign striker loaned by Hanoi Police in the Van Cuong exchange deal is increasingly wearing out his crotch on the bench, making fans even more "nervous". Hong Linh Ha Tinh added Xuan Truong from Hai Phong, whether it will increase flexibility and sharpness in the midfield or not, is still a question mark.
The fact that Song Lam Nghe An only lost by a narrow margin to strong teams like Thep Xanh Nam Dinh or Binh Duong, and held Hai Phong FC to a draw... are commendable, but it seems that the "abyss" of the bottom is looming in the second leg. Everything can change immediately if Khanh Hoa gets 3 points in round 14, winning 12 points, while Song Lam Nghe An, The Cong Viettel or Hoang Anh Gia Lai encounter difficulties, then the "pumping" of the bottom will become even more intense and uncomfortable. Positions 11 to 13 all have 13 points, meaning that after 1 round, the positions can be reversed and it is impossible to say which team will fall to the bottom of the table.
Certainly, the return leg of V-League will be extremely tense and dramatic at the bottom. Whether the youth and determination, step by step maturity like Song Lam Nghe An can gain a safe position or not is still a question that is not easy to answer. And whether the team identified as Khanh Hoa will continue to be forced to the bottom of the table or not also depends a lot on all efforts to create a "relegation tradition" of the poor coastal team?
