Looking back at the journey to the 2020 National U21 semi-finals of U21 SLNA

U21 SLNA 1-1 U21 Pho Hien

In the opening match of Group B, the young team from Nghe An faced U21 Pho Hien, a very strong team in this year's tournament. Assessing their opponent higher, U21 SLNA decided to play defensively and counterattack to earn 1 point.

Nguyen Van Viet is an outstanding player of U21 SLNA. Photo: Organizing Committee

However, the plan had to change because they were behind early. Missing many good opportunities, they had to rely on Nguyen Van Viet's valuable goal at the end of the match,U21 SLNAThe match ended in a 1-1 draw.

U21 SLNA 5-1 U21 Long An

Among the remaining 3 teams in Group B, U21 Long An was the weakest opponent and U21 SLNA took advantage of this opportunity to pour down a rain of goals. In that match,U21 SLNAkept the same lineup and scored 5 goals against the opponent thanks to the goals of young players Dinh Xuan Tien, Tran Ngoc Anh, Nguyen Van Viet, substitute players Thai Bao Trung and Ho Van Cuong.

The match against Long An was the best match of U21 SLNA in the group stage. Photo: Organizing Committee

In which, the goals of Xuan Tien, Bao Trung and Van Cuong were all very beautiful goals. Goalkeeper Thanh Huy only had to pick the ball out of the net once from the efforts of the opposing team.

U21 SLNA 1-1 U21 Viettel

When you have 4 points in hand,U21 SLNAcontinues to face a huge challenge, U21 Viettel. This is the leading candidate for the championship. However, the fact that captain Mai Sy Hoang was injured early and had to leave the field made the play of the young SLNA players quite deadlocked. The absence of midfielder Xuan Binh due to a penalty card also made U21 SLNA lack the necessary passion.

SLNA's defense conceded 3 goals, while the offense scored 7 goals. Photo: Ba Tuan

This was a match that coach Dinh Van Dung was not satisfied with because of the mistakes in the defense. An immature foul in the penalty area caused U21 SLNA to concede a penalty and fall into a passive position.

However, Van Viet, as a senior player, once again helped U21 SLNA escape a defeat. With his speed and experience, the player wearing the number 7 jersey dramatically equalized 1-1 for the home team and was also his 3rd goal in this year's tournament.

U21 SLNA's opponent in the semi-finals is U21 Nam Dinh. The team is also highly rated in this year's tournament with 6-7 players reinforced from the V.League team. They ranked first in Group A with 2 wins against Dong Thap and CAND, lost to Khanh Hoa, scored 8 goals and conceded 4 goals while SLNA scored 7 goals and conceded 3 goals.

With the achievement of U21 SLNA reaching the semi-finals and securing the bronze medal, SLNA youth teams have set a record of having full achievements in all youth tournaments in 2020. Previously, SLNA had 3 championships of U11, U13, U17 teams and 2 bronze medals of U15 and U19.

Coach Dinh Van Dung: "By winning a ticket to the semi-finals, U21 SLNA has achieved its initial goal. However, I am really not satisfied with the performance of my students in the match against U21 Viettel.

Our players played below average, the two full-backs did not leave any mark. SLNA U21 was lucky to equalize, otherwise they would have been eliminated early. I need to adjust the players' mentality to play better in the semi-final.

Dramatic draw with Viettel, SLNA meets Nam Dinh in the National U21 semi-finals

(Baonghean.vn) - In the final match of Group B - National U21 Finals 2020, U21 SLNA, although letting U21 Viettel take the lead, Van Viet's valuable goal helped the home team gain an important point and advance to the semi-finals.