Song Lam Nghe An: The last leg is the happy leg?

For Vietnamese football, when the World Cup dream is still quite far away, the Vietnamese team will have friendly matches and focus on the AFF Cup 2022 taking place nearly a month later. As for the teams, including Song Lam Nghe An, they have to compete in 3 rounds of V-League, then whoever has a "place" in the national team will continue to strive to play as well as possible, the rest will compete in youth tournaments or... wait.

The last three rounds of V-League are coming soon,Lam River Nghe Anplay 2 away matches against 2 top teams Topenland Binh Dinh and Hai Phong, 1 last home match against the bottom team Nam Dinh. This unwanted situation is enough to show that the last 3 rounds are not easy for Ngoc Hai and his teammates.

Van Duc's explosive performance helped Song Lam Nghe An win big against Binh Duong. Photo: Chung Le

The two top teams will fight fiercely to achieve the highest position (2nd or 3rd) for the team, for individuals from the head coach to the players, foreign players... Mr. Hoan, with his high determination to bring Hai Phong football back to its golden age, will certainly not be satisfied if the team finishes outside the top 3. Besides, head coach Chu Dinh Nghiem, the players on loan such as Ngoc Quang, Viet Hung, Van Toi, Quang Nho... must also have clear personal goals after this season. With Binh Dinh, the situation is similar for both the team and individuals. In particular, Van Lam and the stars gathered here are playing very cohesively, sublimating, enough to stop Viettel recently, showing that this is a team that is very difficult to beat at present.

Meanwhile, the final match against Nam Dinh at Vinh Stadium will be exciting if both teams have specific goals and this is the thing that is… hard to say? It has been made clear that Song Lam Nghe An is out of the top 3 so they will give the playing field to young players, training for next season. If Nam Dinh is still in the danger zone before the relegation threshold, they will have to fight, even to win 3 points. In the final match, everything is completely “done”, the press, public opinion or fans want to say anything, it is beyond their… reach?

To see, in the final stage, Song Lam Nghe An as well as other teams will have their own calculations and goals to reach the finish line safely and successfully. If in the 2 away matches against strong, ambitious opponents, Huy Hoang and his team get 1 point in each match, it is commendable because they have made it difficult for strong teams to reach the finish line. And then, Song Lam's position will not be in the top 5 as it is now? If Song Lam Nghe An loses both of these matches, it will not be surprising, because in reality, the current "performance" of the Vinh team only goes up to that point, even though Van Duc is returning to his best version.

Trong Hoang played with great effort in the match against Binh Duong. Photo courtesy of Chung Le

With the final match at Vinh Stadium, the feeling of a friendly and happy match will take place to close everything according to the long-standing procedure. Nam Dinh will do everything (because this team is not weak in economic resources) to ensure that it does not fall into the situation of running for relegation. Next season, will everyone see the team from the South transform like Hai Phong, Binh Dinh?

In short, the final leg will be a happy leg for many teams, except for the relegated team. As for Song Lam Nghe An, with a new sponsor in the first season, a new young coach, many young players promoted to the first team... being in the top 5 is not a disaster, except for upsetting the majority of fans at the end of the second leg. If this young generation can do something in the U21 tournament at the end of the year, the story with the fans will gradually be restored, filling in the gaps that have been unnecessarily reduced. And certainly next season, the team leaders and coaching staff must clearly see their true quality, specific and appropriate goals, avoid exaggerating, talking loudly but not achieving, avoid making the same "mistakes" as in the past.

Only then will the new football season be as exciting and attractive as before, especially the final stage, reaching the finish line will be the real fun stage.