S.Khanh Hoa - SLNA: Home team shows off their power
(Baonghean.vn) - 19/8 Stadium has never brought a comfortable feeling to the Nghe An team, especially at a time when the home team S.Khanh Hoa is in good form and has a high competitive spirit like now.
The 0-1 defeat to FLC Thanh Hoa in the 24th round made SLNA's chances of entering the TOP 3 almost impossible. With 4 points less than the Thanh team and only 2 more rounds left in the 2018 V.League, the possibility of coach Nguyen Duc Thang and his team being in the top 3 is very unlikely.
Not to mention that FLC Thanh Hoa easily got the 2 necessary points in the last 2 rounds against Ho Chi Minh City Club (away) and S.Khanh Hoa (home), the fact that SLNA had to win the maximum 6 points against S.Khanh Hoa (away) and Ho Chi Minh City Club (home) is also a somewhat impossible goal for the Nghe An team.
It is not that Que Ngoc Hai and his teammates are not strong enough to defeat the two opponents, S.Khanh Hoa and Ho Chi Minh City Club, but simply that their fighting spirit has been seriously reduced after SLNA's hope of winning a medal was about to disappear after losing to FLC Thanh Hoa on September 28. In short, in the last two rounds of V.League 2018, coach Nguyen Duc Thang and his team played mainly for honor.
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| SLNA (yellow) has almost lost hope of entering the TOP 3 of V.League 2018. Photo: Archive |
Traveling to Nha Trang city this time, the Nghe An team brought with them an unbeaten record against the home team S.Khanh Hoa. Since V.League 2015 until now, SLNA has visited 19/8 Stadium 3 times and all returned with 1 point in hand (V.League 2015: 2 - 2, V.League 2016: 2 - 2, V.League 2017: 1 - 1).
Thus, the 19/8 stadium is neither a “bad land” (not yet lost) nor a “good land” (not yet won) for the Nghe An team. It is very likely that in the upcoming clash, the possibility of winning all 3 points of coach Nguyen Duc Thang and his team is quite small. Because SLNA has to play away and face the home team that is in high form and excited psychologically.
Currently, the team led by coach Vo Dinh Tan is in 2nd place on the rankings, ahead of the team in 3rd place - FLC Thanh Hoa by exactly the number of points of 1 win (3 points). If they defeat SLNA and the Thanh team cannot overcome Ho Chi Minh City Club in the match at the same time taking place at Thong Nhat Stadium, S.Khanh Hoa will win the runner-up position of V.League 2018 1 round early.
Playing on the 19/8 field, against an opponent with no clear goal, victory is a must for coach Vo Dinh Tan and his team. Entering this match, S.Khanh Hoa's team will not lack any unfortunate cases, while SLNA will welcome the return of Vietnam Olympic player, Pham Xuan Manh (recovering from injury).
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| S.Khanh Hoa is in good form recently. Photo: Internet |
However, in the current situation, it is very likely that coach Nguyen Duc Thang will not risk using the duo Phan Van Duc - Pham Xuan Manh from the start. SLNA's coaching staff even put Tran Dinh Hoang, Ho Khac Ngoc... on the bench, after a period of continuous hard work.
It seems that to have the first victory on August 19 against S.Khanh Hoa, SLNA and Nghe An fans will have to wait a little longer. The chance to win all 3 points in the match taking place at 5pm on October 2 is too small for coach Nguyen Duc Thang and his team./.
