National Cup Quarterfinals - Will SLNA continue to win?

(Baonghean.vn) - This afternoon (June 20), 4 pairs of return matches of the National Cup will be held. Obviously, the teams that won the first leg such as SLNA, Binh Duong, Quang Nam and SHB Da Nang are holding a big advantage because they won all 3 points in the first leg.

SHB.Da Nang is a strong candidate at the National Cup. Photo: DN

The most certain, perhaps, is the host SHB.Da Nang, with a 3-0 victory over the reigning National Cup champion Than Quang Ninh, the team on the banks of the Han River has one foot in the semi-finals. Since Binh Dinh, the team that almost successfully defended the championship title for 2 consecutive years in the 2003 and 2004 seasons, no team has been able to do this.

Than Quang Ninh just had a forgettable loss to SHB Da Nang 3-0 at home. The task of scoring at least 4 goals against the home team at Hoa Xuan Stadium at this time seems to be an impossible task for coach Phan Thanh Hung and his team.

Quang Nam also had 3 points before the ball rolled on Tam Ky field, not because the Quang team was too strong but because of XSKT. Can Tho lost "according to procedure". Even at home, coach Vu Quang Bao sent out "reserve of reserve" players, so it is certain that when playing away, there will be no players who are playing in V-League.

This match will follow the scenario of “finish early, shower early and go home early” so the audience probably won’t be excited. In the current situation of the Tay Do team, it’s true that coach Vu Quang Bao has no other choice, “if he wins” it could be a big problem.

The 1-3 loss at Vinh Stadium showed that the curse: "Cong Vinh will never take 3 points away from Vinh Stadium" from his time as a player still applies when he becomes a manager. In fact, it is not that SLNA is too strong, but simply that they have shown their determination to bring the Cup to Vinh Stadium. The absence of The Nhat due to a penalty card or Ngoc Hai due to a minor injury did not make the audience too worried when Minh Duc and Van Khanh still played quite well.

Center back Ngoc Hai has scored 2 goals after 2 matches: Photo: DN

When both teams play with 1 foreign player, SLNA's young players will be determined to have their 3rd consecutive win. If coach Fiard is right: "The upcoming match is an important preparation step for us before the first match of the second phase of V-League against Long An on away field", then it is even more certain that SLNA will have 3 points.

In the first leg, the home team Saigon FC let B.Binh Duong successfully come back 2-3 despite leading 2-1 after the first half. In the process of generational transition, coach Binh Su will know how to combine the experience of Anh Duc, Xuan Luan, Tan Tai with young faces like Tien Linh, Van Vu, Anh Ty in the match against the away team Saigon FC.

In addition to the two foreign players Pereira and Dugary, the home team has naturalized player Michal Nguyen and coach Binh Su is rated higher than coach Duc Thang, experts believe that B.Binh Duong will be the team to continue. In the 2017 season, Saigon FC was the team that caused many difficulties for the "giants" in V-League, but clearly at home they "fell into the trap" of one of the oldest coaches on the Vietnamese football field today.

In the fans' minds, the National Cup semi-finals will be a clash between Quang Nam and SLNA, SHB.Da Nang and B.Binh Duong. If they don't want the National Cup to be an internal battle between Quang Nam, then coach Duc Thang and his team need to focus highly on this tournament.

AT