Round 22 V-League: The relegation race between XSCT.Can Tho and Nam Dinh

In the previous round, despite their best efforts at Hoa Xuan Stadium, XSCT.Can Tho ultimately had to leave Da Nang empty-handed. However, they were consoled when the home team at Thien Truong Stadium was also defeated by S.Khanh Hoa 2-1.

Both XSCT.Can Tho and Nam Dinh are only 1 point apart and are forced to compete in every match to escape relegation. In round 22 of the V-League, while XSCT.Can Tho plays at home against Quang Nam, Nam Dinh must leave Thien Truong Stadium to meet a very strong opponent, FLC Thanh Hoa.

Nam Dinh plays "Western handicap"

Nam Dinh's relegation battle will be even more intense whenhave to play the remaining matches of this year's V.League with only one foreign player, striker Diogo. The Thien Truong Stadium team has terminated the contract with foreign player Romario for non-professional reasons.

Foreign player Romario has only played 2 matches for coach Nguyen Van Sy and his team in the second leg of V.League 2018, without scoring any goals. The Dutch striker joined Thanh Nam after saying goodbye to Binh Duong Club. In the first leg of the Thu Dau Mot team, the 29-year-old striker only scored 3 goals in 10 matches.

Patiyo Tambwe's sentence was reduced right at the time XSCT.Can Tho needed to escape the bottom of the rankings. Photo: Internet

Sources from Thien Truong Stadium said that financial issues were the main reason why Nam Dinh “said no” to this foreign player. Recently, the Thien Truong Stadium team faced a two-month salary debt story because the 20 billion VND that the provincial leaders promised at the beginning of the year could not be transferred to the team’s account.

While the team leader has "managed" every way to pay the full salaries for July and August to the players and coaching staff, Romario is said to be "sitting back and enjoying the benefits" and not contributing much to the team.

This trip to Thanh Hoa Stadium of coach Van Sy and his team is considered to be “less good, more bad” even though the two players Nguyen Minh Tung and Nguyen Trong Hoang of the home team will not be able to play. Defender Minh Tung has been playing mainly as a reserve for a long time, and if Trong Hoang does not play, The Duong or Huu Dung will be ready.

FLC Thanh Hoa players' form is on the rise after 2 victories 4-0 against SLNA, 3-0 against HAGL. Striker Rimario is playing very effectively, he has 4 goals in the last 2 matches, including a hat-trick against his old team HAGL.

Being in the top 3 makes Thanh Hoa fans, coaches and players ecstatic and they cannot miss the opportunity to continue chasing S.Khanh Hoa. Therefore, Nam Dinh's relegation battle, which was already difficult, is now even more difficult.

Coach Quang Bao's first victory?

With the mission of keeping Can Tho in the league this season, new coach Vu Quang Bao needs to find at least 9 points for the team in the remaining 6 rounds. Like Nam Dinh, Tay Do team is having internal problems related to money.

Recently, 10 players signed a petition demanding the club pay the transfer fee, causing internal disagreements. Fortunately, the team's leadership promptly "defused" the situation so that the players could return to normal training.

Rimario is expected to shake up Nam Dinh's defense. Photo: Internet

But perhaps most importantly, the Club has proposed that the Disciplinary Board reduce the fine from 15,000,000 VND to 10,000,000 VND and reduce the suspension period from 3 matches to 2 matches for player Patiyo Tambwe (number 10) of XSCT Can Tho Club.

Patiyo has so far scored 8 goals in combination with Wander, who has scored 11 goals, to "combine the two swords" to bombard the goal of Quang Nam goalkeeper Van Cuong.

Obviously, XSCT.Can Tho, in addition to the home field advantage and the return of foreign player Patiyo, is also considered to have an easier time than FLC Thanh Hoa of Nam Dinh.

On the other hand, the ambition of coach Hoang Van Phuc and his students is also considered to be less than that of coach Duc Thang and his students. Therefore, this is an opportunity that cannot be missed for XSCT.Can Tho players to take the 13th position of Nam Dinh.