Round 5 V.League 2019: Mountain City is about to have an early "storm"?

This is the season that Mr. Duc "planned" for the V.League championship for the first batch of ripe fruits of the football academy.HAGL - Arsenal JMG. But after the resounding victory at 19/8 Nha Trang Stadium, coach Duong Minh Ninh and his team lost 3 consecutive matches (against TP.HCM, Saigon and Hai Phong).

Beautiful stone but blunt attack, poor defense

This is not the first season that HAGL has faced the risk of relegation, the concern about the defense has lasted for several seasons. The offense has not scored, and the defense has conceded 7 goals in 3 matches, causing them to drop to 9th place.

HAGL's strongest point is the midfield, where there are players with good techniques such as Tran Minh Vuong, Nguyen Van Toan, Nguyen Tuan Anh, Nguyen Phong Hong Duy...

If he doesn't get 3 points against Than Quang Ninh, Mr. Duong Minh Ninh will most likely have to pay the price with his own head coach position! Photo: VPF

However, as many V.League coaches commented, HAGL's attacking style is too fragile because the players are not strong against each other. Van Toan, Tuan Anh and HAGL players are very easy to predict, the vertical connection between the lines is not good so the defense is easily broken. Meanwhile, in the attack line, this team has not had an outstanding individual to lead the team for many years.

HAGL CEO and Head of Delegation Nguyen Tan Anh also admitted: "We determined that the reason for the recent failure was due to our poor internal strength, including the injuries of many key players such as Van Thanh, A Hoang, Chau Ngoc Quang and recently the central defenders Kim Bong Jin, Hoang Lam and midfielder Thanh Tung. Meanwhile, the training and direction in competition have not met professional requirements."

Cong Phuong and Xuan Truong are abroad, Van Thanh will need at least 4 more weeks to be able to play. According to the results of the recent X-ray examination, Hoang Lam's injury is determined to be much more serious. He has torn his ankle ligament and will need at least 3 weeks to recover. Korean midfielder Kim Bong-jin is also expected to rest for 1 month, making the situation for HAGL even more difficult.

Take offense to make up for defense?

HAGL’s opponent this time is Than Quang Ninh, which has been in good form with 2 consecutive wins in V.League this season. According to experts, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, and Hanoi are the 3 teams with the best results in the last 3 rounds.

The recent confrontations between Wood and Than always have a difference in score, often taking place in an open game. The last 5 matches between these two teams (4 matches in V.League, 1 National Cup match) have had 22 goals scored, in one match the two teams scored up to 6 goals.

HAGL's defense has only faced the attack of HCMC FC, Saigon FC, Hai Phong and has shown many mistakes. Now they have to face Hai Huy, Mac Hong Quan in the context of patchwork defense, making the Plei-ku stadium audience restless. Will HAGL risk taking the offensive to compensate for the defensive in the future?

Mr. Duc has just signed a cooperation agreement with Feyenoord Rotterdam Club (Netherlands), a football team with a history of 110 years of formation and development. Photo: thanhnien.vn

After 3 losses, the wave of demands for replacing coach Duong Minh Ninh in the stands on social networks has exploded. In the last two matches, HAGL let TP HCM and Hai Phong score early, but coach Duong Minh Ninh's handling of the situation was quite weak.

Under great pressure from public opinion, Coach Duong Minh Ninh confided: "In this match, HAGL will play at home, with the support of Gia Lai fans, my players and I are determined to win against Quang Ninh by all means. Having lost 3 matches already, if we lose again, it will lead to many bad consequences."

Bau Duc has just signed a cooperation agreement with Feyenoord Rotterdam Club (Netherlands), a team with a history of 110 years of formation and development. After two previous cooperation agreements with Arsenal in 2007, Mito Holyhock in 2015, HAGL now continues to cooperate with Feyenoord Rotterdam. For a long time, HAGL has had famous deals, ahead of Vietnamese teams in terms of development strategy.

However, for now, HAGL still needs to win to calm public opinion, otherwise the "storm" will arise and Mr. Duong Minh Ninh will have to pay the price with his own head coach position!