Round 20 V-League: Heat in the North-South

In the last three rounds, starting from round 20 Sunday 18 August, the V-League matches will be conducted at the same time 17:00 on the fields throughout the country to prevent the possibilities of cahoots among teams.

Ninh Binh (in white) and Kien Giang (in orange) will fight for a relegation. Photo: Duc Dong.

The focus of this round is the “final reverse” in Ninh Binh field between home team Ninh Binh and Kien Giang, the team that is in the bottom of the ranking. It can be a surprise when Ninh Binh, a team of with strong investment in many stars, has to worry to find the way for relegation at the end of the season. “We have been so subjective that led to such poor results”, admitted Coach Nguyen Van Sy. Meanwhile, the poor Kien Giang with 16 points, i.e. 3 points less than the opponent, is forced to win to hold the chance for relegation. Otherwise, Lai Hong Van and his students have to say goodbye soon to V-League.

With an advantage of home field and better force, Ninh Binh determines to win 3 points for early disposition of their fate. In the worst scenario, if the Hoa Lu team is lost, the race for relegation will become more aggressive and unpredictable. .

Another match for relegation is Dong Nai vs. DTLA in home field. With 22 and 23 points, both Dong Nai and DTLA are theoretically not relegated. Therefore, the two teams will fight for a safe group before listening news from Ninh Binh. In the first leg, Dong Nai suddenly defeated DTLA 3 goals to 1 in away field and Coach Tran Binh Su and his students are trying to repeat such results for not having to connect to Hoa Lu. Similarly, with the sequence of 4 consecutive wins, Coach Ngo Quang Sang and his students are taking the lead to have a spectacular acceleration. This will be a fascinating and unpredictable competition for fans..

In the first leg, HN-T&T (in white) defeated Thanh Hoa right at Thanh region. Photo: Duc Dong.

While the relegation race is likely to be decided after this round, the championship race is becoming more attractive than ever. After holding SLNA, the direct competitor in Vinh field in the previous round, HN-T & T is very confident on the way to the finish. In tomorrow afternoon (18 August), they will play with Thanh Hoa at Hang Day, which will be a significant advantage for Coach Phan Thanh Hung and his students.

In the first leg, HN-T & T player had the most remarkable comeback in Thanh field and in the second leg, both teams are in top form. Hence, this match is expected to be unpredictable. The advantage is in favor of the capital team with more qualified squad of players while Thanh Hoa is on top form with two consecutive victories and striker Mac Hong Quan continuously scored. Therefore, Coach Hien’s players should carefully watch out.

While the North is feeling the heat with two matches in Hanoi and Ninh Binh, the South also has no less fierce matches in Thong Nhat and Binh Duong. Xuan Thanh Saigon, after many critics on suspected case of trying to sell the right of redeeming pawn, are trying to clinge HN-T&T. Thong Nhat stadium is likely to be home field for SLNA while thousands of SLNA spectators are waiting for the game start to cheer for the home team, which will be a great advantage for Coach Huu Thang and his students when playing away from Vinh field. The visitors are better in force and mentality and they determined to win 3 points while waiting for HN T&T to stumble to reclaim top spot.

SGXT finds it difficult to prevent the power of Kavin in SLNA Photo: Duc Dong.

In Thu field, the competition between the two formers Binh Duong and HAGL is also very tensed. Losing the chance for top spot, HAGL (lack of Oseni) is forced to win and waits for top dogs to stumble while Binh Duong (lack of Aniekan) which is not sure about relegation, had to try to bring the home team finish safely. This is expected to be an intolerant match as the goals for each team are set clear.

Similarly, in the match between Da Nang and Hai Phong on Chi Lang field, Le Huynh Duc and his students must win 3 points over the Port team before listening to news from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh to protect the crown. Meanwhile, Hai Phong team which suddenly lost in the last match really want to prevent their opponent although they lack striker Quang Hai due to suspension.

Duc Dong -VNE