V-League 2015: A clumsy drama

(Baonghean) - It was thought that the race at the top of the rankings would be fierce until the final round. But the "actors" in shorts and jerseys performed so poorly that the Vietnam Professional Football Tournament ended early even though there were still 2 rounds left. The audience - those who love the king of sports - were bored when they had to witness the clumsy drama...

Entering this season, with the appearance of the young HAGL players, it was thought that fans would witness performances of both football skills and modern tactical thinking, with the style of European football teams. That's right, because HAGL is a well-trained team, with the curriculum of the global Arsenal JMG Football Academy. But after only a few rounds, the HAGL fever that the media and fans created was completely opposite to their poor performance. HAGL is only strong in the U age group, and the V-League shirt seems too big for these players who are only in their late teens or early twenties.

A scene in the first leg match between SLNA and HAGL. Photo: Duc Chuyen

With no experience and no tactical imprint, it is not difficult to understand why in 2/3 of the matches in V-League, HAGL only won a few matches and drew, the rest were all losses. But in a strange afternoon (July 19), HAGL, who were playing poorly, suddenly "convincingly won" the top team B.Binh Duong. It was thought that from the "miracle" named B.Binh Duong, Cong Phuong and his teammates would play brilliantly to safely and properly stay in the league. However, HAGL quickly returned to their rightful position, after a few matches, the bottom position of the rankings reflected their true strength. It was only when HAGL met SLNA that everything suddenly changed dramatically.

Also a young team, but unlike HAGL, SLNA plays much more maturely, because most of Coach Ngo Quang Truong's young players have been tested in the V-League and have affirmed their names in Vietnamese football. Although not as flashy as the mountain town team, SLNA has a clear tactical mindset, is highly combative and when necessary, they can impose their playing style on their opponents. And the achievement that Nguyen Manh, Phi Son, Ngoc Hai and their teammates have is a position that cannot be relegated. Therefore, before marching to the mountain town, there were many streams of information suspecting that SLNA would give up this match to save their juniors. Because in the past, SLNA has also been suspected many times of "making money" when competing with teams that are "thirsty" for points.

Although there is no basis to prove that, but anyone who watches this match will see that the "help" is real. Returning to the developments of the match, we will see that although they gave up the game to HAGL right after the opening whistle, by the end of the first half, Cong Phuong and his teammates were still struggling to find a way into the away team's goal. However, in the second half, everything happened very quickly and unexpectedly, SLNA took the initiative to attack. In the 59th minute, goalkeeper Minh Nhut fouled Haruna of SLNA and referee Duc Vu pointed to the penalty spot, giving SLNA a penalty. It seemed that no one had the heart to "end" the match, so Ngoc Hai had to bravely score against Minh Nhut to open the score for SLNA. From here, the drama entered its climax, HAGL scored 3 consecutive goals thanks to the help from the referee and the away team's players. After this “lucky” victory, Cong Phuong and his teammates continued to enjoy gifts from the teams competing for the championship, which was Hanoi T&T. And an effort in the reverse final against Dong Nai FC to win right on the away field with a 2-1 victory.

HAGL players were happy as if they had stayed in the league after the victory over SLNA in round 22 of V-League 2015. Photo: Internet

So, although there are still 2 more rounds, the V-League is considered to have ended, because B.Binh Buong has successfully defended the championship title early. As for the relegation battle, the most optimistic people also believe that Dong Nai FC has no chance to stay in the V-League next year when the "big guys" have been too generous with HAGL in the final rounds. We know that if this young team stays in the league, the Vietnam Football Federation will gain commercial success. But, what about the fans? Because they have already devoted their love to the round ball, they have wasted money by buying tickets to "watch the clumsy drama" of the "actors" in shorts and shirts...

Southern Scenery