Can Khanh Hoa escape the situation of being 'alone'?
(Baonghean.vn) - After the 2-4 loss at Tam Ky Stadium, S.Khanh Hoa and his team will find it difficult to say "Goodbye" to the V.League arena. The team is quite weak, falling into the situation of "poor family with few brothers" so they try to struggle but S.Khanh Hoa is gradually losing strength.
According to calculations, 30 points is the safety threshold of V.League this year. So there are still 5 teams facing the risk of relegation or having to play in the play-off to compete for a place in the highest league in Vietnam.
Meet "old friends"
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| Hoang Vu Samson "drowned" the coastal city at Tam Ky stadium. Photo: VPF |
After the first leg, people often mentioned the names Quang Nam and S.Khanh Hoa as candidates for the play-off ticket. On the afternoon of August 23, the two teams had a chance to meet at Tam Ky Stadium and after the match, their fates were divided, Quang Nam climbed to 3rd place while S.Khanh Hoa sadly sank to the bottom of the rankings.
The fact that the Quang Nam team received a “aid” package from the capital team consisting of 1 coach and 3 players was the reason why Quang Nam had a streak of 4 consecutive wins, the most impressive in the second leg. Hoang Vu Samson shone and was the leader to pull Quang Nam up the rankings.
It's not that S.Khanh Hoa didn't try hard, but right from the 1-4 defeat to HAGL at home, it signaled a difficult season for coach Vo Dinh Tan and his team. Foreign players were out of shape, funding was difficult and there was no way to supplement the force, they had to stretch themselves to play and S.Khanh Hoa "lost their battery".
A match in which the two national team goalkeepers stood in the goal. Seeing Tuan Manh (S.Khanh Hoa) fumbling in front of Quang Nam strikers, many people asked who introduced this goalkeeper to Mr. Park.
home field
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| Foreign players are the fatal weakness of S.Khanh Hoa. Photo: VPF |
Strangely enough, this season, the home field of August 19th seems to have turned its back on the team from the coastal city. Up to now, after 11 home matches, it has lost 6 and won only 3, the worst in the V.League.
In fact, throughout the season, S.Khanh Hoa also had some bright moments such as winning 2-1 against the home team S.Khanh Hoa, drawing 2-2 with Hanoi at Hang Day Stadium. But those were just attempts to escape, followed by a loss of momentum. In the previous round, if they had got 3 points against SLNA, they would have escaped the bottom, but in the end, they suffered a miserable defeat.
Toure Youssouf is getting slower and slower, struggling to turn things around. Center back Zarour Chaher is no longer able to cover the field like last season, Lam Thi Phong has been playing badly after the departure of Quoc Chi. Truong Tinh is the most improved player of the coastal city team but has only contributed 4 goals.
The poor offense and poor defense made S.Khanh Hoa have the fewest wins (5) and the most losses (12) and they did not have enough money in their coffers to do anything. The most significant addition was completing the procedure so that Huu Khoi could enter the field from the second leg, but it did not change the situation. Not to mention, S.Khanh Hoa always received "strange whistles" which made their situation even more difficult.
Alone, alone
When Saigon, Hai Phong, HAGL were exhausted in the second leg, and Thanh Hoa "shot themselves in the foot", S.Khanh Hoa had a better chance in the relegation race. But it seems that S.Khanh Hoa is the "lone star" in V.League as stated by coach Vo Dinh Tan.
Their match schedule is the most disadvantageous in the "high risk" group when they have to continue to march to Lach Tray Stadium to play round 23. With a weak army and tired legs, it is predicted that the more the S.Khanh Hoa players play, the more their mentality will drop.
They also have to meet the host HAGL in the match that closes the season. Having to win 10 points (equivalent to 3 wins, 1 draw) in the remaining 4 matches, including 2 direct competitors Hai Phong and HAGL, has significantly closed the door to relegation.
S.Khanh Hoa has not “given up”, it seems they are determined to the last minute in the style of “while there is life, there is hope”. But it is true that only a “miracle” can save them from relegation this season. I just hope that S.Khanh Hoa’s love for the football field will not be damaged.
