U21 SLNA lost 2 consecutive matches in the 2019 National U21 qualifying round: Why?

Coach Dinh Van Dung has been successful with many generations of SLNA players but has no luck with the U21 team this year. Photo: VFF

Meanwhile, on the coaching bench are the quartet Nguyen Dinh Dung – Nguyen Quang Hai – Dinh Van Dung – Nguyen Xuan Tuong. The person “taking the lead” is Coach Nguyen Dinh Dung, who has achieved many successes when leading U19 SLNA to participate in previous finals (runner-up in 2013, 3rd place in 2018). Coach Nguyen Dinh Dung’s 3 assistants are also famous in youth football. Typically, Coach Dinh Van Dung (Head coach of U16 Vietnam and U22 Vietnam in 2013, assistant coach of U19 Vietnam at the 2018 U19 Asian Finals…).

Unfortunately, with such personnel, U21 SLNA played poorly in the 2019 National U21 qualifying round. In the opening match, Duong Van Cuong and his teammates were defeated by the weaker opponent, U21 Cong An Nhan Dan, with the minimum score (0-1). Even in the second match, U21 SLNA lost to U21 Pho Hien with a "horrifying" score of 0-5, along with a red card for left-back Mai Sy Hoang (minute 85). This is the heaviest defeat of U21 SLNA ever, in the National U21 tournament. It seems that the door to the 2019 National U21 Finals is gradually closing for coach Nguyen Dinh Dung and his team.

A close look at the performance of U21 SLNA in the last two matches shows that the physical condition of some young players from Nghe An is not in the best condition. Therefore, towards the end of the match, Coach Nguyen Dinh Dung's students appear to be weaker than their colleagues on the other side of the battle line. What happened in the last 30 minutes of the match with U21 Pho Hien is clear evidence. The players in yellow shirts are no different from "blue soldiers" in an internal training session of U21 Pho Hien.

The next reason why U21 SLNA played so poorly was the lack of cohesion between the players. It was known that it was not until June 18 that coach Nguyen Dinh Dung had the best players to assemble the squad. That is, only 1 day before the opening match with U21 Cong An Nhan Dan. Don't forget, most of the U21 SLNA players are playing for teams in the First Division (XSKT Can Tho, Pho Hien) and the Second Division (Kon Tum). The rest are either on the bench in the SLNA first team (Nguyen Ba Duc, Le Thanh Lam, Duong Van Cuong) or have just recovered from injury (Tran Ngoc Anh, Nguyen Van Duc).

Duong Van Cuong is currently the number 3 goalkeeper at SLNA. Photo: Document

Anyway, the U21 National Qualifiers have officially been suspended (returning in September). The upcoming period is an opportunity for the U21 SLNA coaching staff to find a suitable solution to help the team achieve positive results in the 3 matches against U21 Hanoi, U21 Nam Dinh and U21 Viettel. If they win all 9 points, it is likely that Coach Nguyen Dinh Dung and his team will be in the top 3 teams of Group A. The opportunity for Duong Van Cuong and his teammates is still there, although not really big.

According to the regulations of the 2019 National U21 tournament, 2/3 third-placed teams from groups A, B and C will compete with the 6 first- and second-placed teams in the final round held at Pleiku Stadium (Gia Lai). In case U21 HAGL is not in the group of 6 first- and second-placed teams, only 1 third-placed team will be allowed to participate in the final round./.

After losing heavily to U21 Pho Hien, U21 SLNA almost has no chance to participate in the final round

(Baonghean.vn) - In the second match of Group A of the 2019 National U21 qualifying round, U21 SLNA was defeated by U21 Pho Hien with a resounding score of 5-0.

Thanh Hung