SLNA cannot be relegated but will have good results in V.League!

On June 14, 2018, comrade Le Minh Thong - Member of the Provincial Party Committee - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee and the working delegation visited and encouraged the players and coaching staff of SLNA football team.

Comrade Le Minh Thong encouraged SLNA players. Photo: Duc Dung

At the meeting, the leaders of SLNA Club pointed out the difficulties that the Nghe An team encountered when entering the 2018 season, which was that the club had to compete on all three fronts: National Cup, AFC Cup, V.League, but could not add more players and also lost the pillar Phi Son (transferred to play for Ho Chi Minh City Club). Because of having to compete on many fronts, many key players were injured and had to rest, causing the main squad to be damaged, plus many matches due to lack of luck, SLNA did not achieve the desired results.

SLNA achieved unexpected results in the first leg of V.League 2018. Photo courtesy

At the end of the first leg of V.League 2018, SLNA had 2 wins, 5 draws and 6 losses, ranking 12/14 on the rankings, with 11 points after 13 rounds. In the National Cup, SLNA reached the semi-finals. In the AFC Cup, SLNA reached 10 points, ranked 2nd in Group F but did not enter the next round because they lost to the second-placed teams in other groups in terms of goal difference/loss.

To improve the team's performance in V.League, SLNA head coach Nguyen Duc Thang promised "to encourage the players to try their best and achieve the best results in each remaining match in V.League and National Cup 2018".

Mr. Nguyen Hong Thanh - General Director of Song Lam Joint Stock Company - Chairman of SLNA Football Club said: "Since the inception of V.League until now, SLNA is the only club in Vietnam that has never been relegated. SLNA is one of the most successful and unique football teams in V.League. That result is thanks to the encouragement and support of football fans inside and outside the province, the timely attention and direction of Nghe An provincial leaders through the periods. However, in the first leg matches of V.League 2018, SLNA did not achieve the desired results."

As the head of SLNA Club, Mr. Nguyen Hong Thanh apologized to fans and took responsibility for SLNA's recent weaknesses.

Mr. Thanh also promised, "We will work together with the SLNA team to make 2-3 times more efforts to complete the tasks that the provincial leaders and Nghe An fans have trusted and entrusted to SLNA."

The President of SLNA Club also affirmed: "SLNA will have a positive ranking in V.League 2018, and in the National Cup, SLNA is currently certain to win the Bronze Medal, and will try to defend the National Cup championship title."

Comrade Le Minh Thong gave gifts to encourage SLNA Club. Photo: Duc Dung

On behalf of the provincial leaders, comrade Le Minh Thong acknowledged the efforts and attempts to overcome difficulties of the SLNA team in the past time, although the results in the 2018 season have not been as expected. He hopes that in the coming time, with the spirit of solidarity and high determination, for the fans of Nghe An, the SLNA team will strive to compete with all their might to achieve the best results.

The delegation took souvenir photos with the players and the SLNA Club's coaching staff. Photo: Duc Dung