Send Long An to First Division

(Baonghean.vn) - This weekend, coach Duc Thang and his players will have to do something no one wants to do, sending Long An back to the First Division next season. Knowing that it is the inevitable ending, coach Minh Phuong and the players cannot help but feel sad..

This is not the first time Long An has been relegated but it is certainly a memorable season for both the players and the audience at Tan An Stadium. Compared to the relegation after V-League 2011, this time is much more cruel, with countless times of luck turning their backs on them.

Destiny

The Thong Nhat scandal in the 2017 V.League season, Long An "lay down" for Cong Vinh's team to play, because they disobeyed the referee Nguyen Trong Thu's whistle, which was considered more serious than La Xuan Thang's penalty burning in 1997 in terms of shame.

Will Long An receive a ticket to the first division at Vinh stadium? Photo: Internet

Accordingly, the VFF Disciplinary Board has suspended Huynh Quang Thanh and goalkeeper Minh Nhut for 2 years. Former chairman Vo Thanh Nhiem and coach Ngo Quang Sang have been banned from professional football for 3 years. The team has also been fined 100 million VND. Although the team's leadership tried every way to revive the team, in the end they could not save themselves.

In fact, apart from the 2-1 away win over XSKT.Can Tho in the opening match of the tournament and the 2-1 win over HAGL (round 18) at Plei-ku Stadium, coach Minh Phuong and his team had many good matches such as a 3-3 draw with Saigon and a 2-3 loss to Quang Nam.

There were many matches, when leading, maybe the match was good, but suddenly Long An players played poorly, were equalized and lost. Even in round 15, at Lach Tray stadium, in the 72nd minute, Vu Em and Tai Loc scored and led 2-0 but in the end still lost to Hai Phong 3-2.

Long An's playing style depends heavily on Tai Loc, Le Tan Tai, Huynh Tan Tai, Vu Em... based on physical strength and hard work. The two foreign players Eydison and Wander only played averagely, without skillful individual techniques, so they could not contribute much to their team.

Ironically, many times, despite being at the bottom of the rankings, Minh Phuong, the team's head coach, has bitterly said: "Long An has been the victim of the referee for countless matches during the season."

Even recently at home, foreign player Wander Luiz of Long An put the ball into the net of FLC Thanh Hoa. Referee Tran Van Lap initially recognized the home team's goal, but after receiving continuous and increasing reactions from Thanh Hoa players, referee Lap consulted with second assistant Minh Dang.

After a period of consultation, referee Tran Van Lap decided to "blow the whistle", penalize Wander Luiz for offside, and disallow Long An's goal.

The team is weak, the money is short and they are in a precarious situation. It would be strange if Long An did not get relegated soon. The professionals can only wish that this traditional team will soon return to V-League as they did before. Down today, up tomorrow.

The team that almost got relegated is very fair-play, respects the rules of the game, is very conscious of bringing the tournament to a safe finish, and needs to play at the highest level of Vietnamese football.

Training soldiers

In the second leg at Vinh Stadium, in addition to Ashkanov Apollon (Long An) and Henry (SLNA), who scored at Tan An Stadium, not playing, the home team's center back Ngoc Hai also had to sit out the match because he received 3 yellow cards.

Players like Phuc Tinh really need the SLNA coaching staff to give them a chance to play. Photo: AT

However, Nghe An fans all believe that Long An is not SLNA's opponent at the moment, which means 3 points is almost inevitable. Even after playing quite well for Danko, Phuc Tinh will most likely be in the starting lineup.

In the match against S.Khanh Hoa at 19/8 Nha Trang Stadium, foreign player Danko played as a reserve, SLNA's game was much better thanks to the aggressiveness, mobility and resistance to collision of Van Duc, The Cuong and Phuc Tinh.

With central defender Ngoc Hai not being able to play, SLNA's coaching staff still has many other options. In addition to central defenders The Nhat and Minh Duc, coach Duc Thang can also pull left-back Manh Hung in to pair with Van Khanh.

SLNA's biggest goal right now is to train soldiers, so the audience expects the coaching staff to boldly keep foreign players, giving priority to Viet Nguyen, Phuc Tinh and a series of other players on the field.

N@T