National Cup: Waiting for the Pakansari stadium effect!
(Baonghean.vn) - It is quite surprising that the second leg of the National Cup semi-final between Becamex Binh Duong Club and Hanoi Club will be held on October 3, 2018 instead of September 5, 2018, but SLNA still has to play against FLC Thanh Hoa on schedule. Therefore, the possibility of the two players Xuan Manh and Van Duc playing is still uncertain.
The National Cup Organizing Committee announced: “Because the Vietnam Olympic team has excellently won the right to compete in the Men's Football Semi-final at the 2018 Asiad on August 29, 2018 and the medal matches on September 1, 2018; after consideration and agreement, the Tournament Management Board announces the adjustment of the Semi-final (second leg) Schedule of the 2018 National Cup as follows: The match between Becamex Binh Duong Club and Hanoi Club will be held on October 3, 2018 instead of September 5, 2018 as the issued Schedule”.
Pakansari Effect
First of all, it must be said that this is a wise and timely decision of VFF to ensure the rights of Hanoi Club when they contribute many players to the Vietnam Olympic team. But for some reason, SLNA also has 2 players Xuan Manh and Van Duc participating in the Vietnam Olympic team but do not enjoy this benefit.
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| The possibility of Xuan Manh and Van Duc playing in the second leg of the National Cup semi-final is still open. Photo courtesy |
If we win the 3rd and 4th place match against Olympic UAE at Pakansari Stadium, SLNA will have a psychological advantage when facing FLC Thanh Hoa at Vinh Stadium. Surely Nghe An fans will be excited to come to the stadium to welcome Xuan Manh and Van Duc, whether they play or not.
Compared to the U23 Asian Cup at the beginning of the year, Xuan Manh and Van Duc did not play as many minutes. However, the two Nghe An players are among the few U23 players who have maintained their original form. Van Duc, in addition to scoring 1 goal, also had 1 assist. Compared to Xuan Truong and Cong Phuong, this player number 20 plays much more consistently with a smart, simple but effective playing style.
Whether playing from the start or from the bench, the two Nghe An players are still highly appreciated by Mr. Park and the coaching staff for their uncompromising fighting spirit. Xuan Manh, in the rare time he started to replace Van Hau in the match against Korea, also played a good role. Against Kim Chi players with good physique and physical strength, Xuan Manh is still strong in the confrontations.
If they win at Pakansari Stadium, they will quickly forget the fatigue after the match and the long flight from Indonesia to Vietnam and the lavish receptions to take the field. They will even inspire their SLNA teammates when facing FLC Thanh Hoa.
Leaving open the possibility of playing
In the first leg of the semi-final at Thanh Hoa Stadium, Xuan Manh did not play due to injury and Van Duc did not play the full 90 minutes, but clearly these two players still made important contributions in terms of spirit in the 3-2 victory.
This is SLNA's 9th consecutive victory this season, including 8 wins in V-League. Of course, Xuan Manh and Van Duc are important players contributing to this winning streak, they have progressed very quickly after the U23 Asian Cup finals earlier this year.
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| SLNA players are ready to welcome their neighbors FLC Thanh Hoa. Photo courtesy |
According to the schedule, the Vietnamese Olympic players will arrive at Noi Bai airport by private plane at noon on September 2nd and will still have to spend a lot of time traveling by double-decker bus to My Dinh stadium for the performance reporting ceremony. So the possibility of the two players Xuan Manh and Van Duc playing in the field 3 days later is still open.
Although Xuan Manh and Van Duc are quite important players in SLNA's current style of play, SLNA's coaching staff will not be too bold in using them. Currently, the left wing of the Nghe An team still has many alternatives, Ngoc Duc and Tuan Tai are also not bad choices.
In a season where the U11, U13, U15 youth teams have won gold medals, the U15, U17 and soon U21 teams all promise to win medals, SLNA defending the National Cup will make the joy more complete.
Nghe An people are looking forward to a perfect scenario, Xuan Manh and Van Duc will contribute to the victory of Vietnam Olympic team against UAE Olympic team. After that, they will continue to bring that “luck” to Vinh stadium to continue writing the history of the 10th consecutive victory of the season in SLNA shirt.