Round 24 V.League: SLNA disappoints, Binh Duong wins early championship

(Baonghean.vn)-Playing without much enthusiasm, SLNA lost 3-0 to Can Tho, who were desperate for points to stay in the league. Meanwhile, B.Binh Duong officially won the 2015 V.League championship 2 rounds early after holding the home team Hai Phong to a draw.

This afternoon (September 1), the 24th round of V.League was pushed up earlier than usual so that the Vietnamese team could gather to prepare for the away match against Taiwan (China) in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers in Asia on September 8. In this round, SLNA will be the away team at Can Tho Stadium. In theory, in the remaining 3 rounds, SLNA still has a chance to be in the top 5, while the home team Can Tho is in dire need of points to escape relegation with the teams Dong Thap, Dong Nai, HAGL. Although they are very sad with the unstable performance of their team, there are still about 200 Nghe An fans who paraded by taxi to cheer for SLNA right in Tay Do before the match took place.

This afternoon, central defender Que Ngoc Hai (4) had the opportunity to face his brother and fellow countrymen on the other side of the battle line.

Can Tho is a team that has a good relationship with SLNA. In recent years, players who have passed their prime like Huy Hoang, Xuan Thang and young players who need to be tested like Van Manh, Van Khanh, Sy Nam, Ngoc Manh... when SLNA does not use them, they are lent to the team from Tay Do. Currently, Can Tho has 6 players and Technical Director Vu Quang Bao is from Nghe An. In the starting lineup for this afternoon's match, there are 2 players from Nghe An who will be on the field from the beginning: goalkeeper The Anh and Que Ngoc Manh (Que Ngoc Hai's older brother).

Facing their compatriots who were in a situation of thirst for points, SLNA players entered the match with a rather gentle attitude. Meanwhile, the home team rushed forward to attack in search of goals. The foreign striker pair of Can Tho, Oseni and Sunday, were very active in the attack, SLNA's defense had to work very hard to stop the home team's attacks. With that situation, in the 34th minute, Can Tho team opened the score. From a quick counterattack on the left wing, Oseni crossed to Sunday. XSKT Can Tho's number 9 skillfully backheeled the ball for Le Van Thang from the left wing to rush into the penalty area and finish into the far corner of SLNA's goal. With this goal, Can Tho striker Van Thang has scored 15 goals in V.League 2015. That means he has surpassed Cong Vinh to become the domestic striker with the most goals in a season.

SLNA players continue to play poorly and "fall off their horses", disappointing Nghe An fans.

With the goal, Can Tho players became more excited, meanwhile, on SLNA's side, coach Quang Truong continued to send forwards Khac Ngoc and foreign player Abdul onto the field to strengthen the attack. However, SLNA's game did not improve but instead allowed the home team to dominate more and more. As a result, Can Tho scored 2 more goals in the second half to set the score at 3-0, to the joy of Tay Do fans and the disappointment of more than 200 Nghe An fans who were present at the stadium to watch the match. With this result, SLNA's chance of entering the top 5 of the season became more and more distant while Can Tho had a better chance of staying in the league.

In the match at the same time, the home team Pleiku was behind 0-2 in the first half, but in the second half, HAGL played resiliently and won 3-2 against Hanoi T&T to keep their hopes of staying in the league alive. Meanwhile, Dong Thap lost 2-4 to SHB Da Nang, and the bottom team Dong Nai only got a draw at Dong Tam Long An. Thus, in the "red light" group, after 24 rounds, HAGL, Dong Thap, Can Tho all have 23 points, while Dong Nai is still at the bottom of the table with 18 points. It seems that the path back to the First Division is getting closer for coach Tran Binh Su and his team.

In the championship group, B.Binh Duong had a 0-0 draw at Hai Phong stadium to win the 2015 V.League championship 2 rounds early because their closely-following opponent, FLC.Thanh Hoa, unexpectedly lost 3-4 to QNK.Quang Nam.

Article and photos:Duc Dung