U17 SLNA faces host PVF in the semi-finals of the 2020 National U17 Championship
(Baonghean.vn) - In the match to determine the first and second place of Group B - National U17 Finals 2020 taking place on the afternoon of September 23, U17 SLNA lost heavily to U17 Nutifood with a squad consisting of many reserve players. This result brought the young team from Nghe An to 2nd place after the group stage and faced U17 PVF in the semi-finals.
Since both teams had already booked their places in the semi-finals from the previous round, the playersU17 Nutifood and U17 SLNAentered the match with a relaxed mentality. This helped the match to be exciting and open right after the opening whistle, with smooth, methodical coordination between the players of both teams.
However, as the match progressed, the Nutifood Academy players showed more and more dominance on the field. Meanwhile, SLNA seemed to want to save energy for the semi-final match, so they were not really interested in speeding up the pace and putting pressure on the opponent's field.
 |
| Coach Le Ky Phuong kept many key players on the bench to save energy for the semi-finals. Photo: Hai Hoang |
After a few missed opportunities, Nutifood Academy opened the score 1-0 in the 25th minute. Starting from a corner kick, the SLNA defense and goalkeeper did not judge the landing point well, creating conditions for Khanh Duy to easily jump high to head the ball in the penalty area.
In the 34th minute, the score was raised to 2-0 for Nutifood Academy after a somewhat lack of concentration by goalkeeper Van Tan, leading to a surprise shot straight into the goal by Hoang Minh. Exactly 5 minutes later, Hoang Minh forced goalkeeper Van Tan to pick the ball out of the net for the third time in the first half with his signature left-footed shot in the penalty area.
 |
| Nutifood players played better than U17 SLNA in the final match of the group stage. Photo: Hai Hoang |
Leading 3-0 in the first half, Nutifood Academy proactively slowed down the pace in the second half to avoid any unfortunate injuries that could occur. However, they still managed to widen the gap to 4-0 in the 54th minute, when Quoc Viet finished a beautiful attack in the middle by breaking away and finishing in a one-on-one situation with goalkeeper Van Tan.
In a game that was already decided, SLNA, despite trying harder in the remaining time of the match, could only score 2 goals thanks to the goals of 2 substitute players Ngo Van Bac in the 60th minute and Nguyen Van Bach in the 85th minute, accepting a 2-4 loss and giving the top spot to Nutifood Academy.
 |
| U17 SLNA unexpectedly suffered a heavy defeat. Photo: Hai Hoang |
In the match at the same time, U17 Saigon and U17 Phu Yen shared points with a score of 1-1. Thus, after the end of the group stage,U17 SLNAranked 2nd with 6 points, scored 9 goals, conceded 6 goals. Coach Le Ky Phuong and his team's opponent in the semi-finals is U17 PVF, while U17 Nutifood faced HAGL.
NATIONAL U17 SEMI-FINAL SCHEDULE 2020
September 25, 2020
Semi-final 1: 15:00, PVF (first place in group A) vs SLNA (second place in group B)
Semi-final 2: 18:00, Nutifood Academy (first place in group B) vs HAGL (second place in group A)
Winning big against Phu Yen, U17 SLNA soon won a ticket to the semi-finals of U17 National 2020
(Baonghean.vn) – Rated higher than U17 Phu Yen, U17 SLNA did not encounter many difficulties and got 3 full points in the second round of the group stage of the 2020 National U17 Football Tournament.