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With Ryan Giggs taking up his position at PVF academy stealing a lot of the headlines when it comes to Vietnamese football at the minute, let’s have a look at the five main talking points from this weekend’s games.
This weekend saw the penultimate set of fixtures in the V.League 1 -- which is the top league in Vietnam. It began with the possibility of five teams still winning the league and with everything sorted at the opposite end of the table, the focus was well and truly on the five chasing the title. With four out of the five teams meeting each other, it was sure to be a blockbuster set of games.
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#5 Dismal Long An
It has been an arduous slog for Long An this season and their relegation was confirmed last month. So you’d think maybe they would play the season out with a bit of freedom now that they don't have any pressure on their backs. That was the case in the last set of fixtures before the international break as they only lost to two late goals away at Song Lam Nghe An-- a serious improvement to what had been happening and maybe a sign of things to come?
Their last away game of the season was at Go Dau stadium as they faced Becamex Binh Duong in what was a contest with nothing riding on it for both sides, apart from pride. The pitch wasn’t in the best condition as it had been battered by several hours of constant rain (more to come on that) so the game struggled to flow and Long An could have taken the lead early on but as the ball was struck past the goalkeeper, it got stuck in the mud and the keeper managed to retrieve it.
Long An gave a good account of themselves in the first half but they were undone just before half-time when Becamex finally breached their defensive line and that it was pretty much an uphill struggle from there.
At times, it seemed like Becamex had an extra player on the pitch because of the sheer number of players that were coming forward and it was only a matter of time before they doubled their lead, then tripled it then made it four. 4-0 to Becamex.
There were times when there were four Becamex attackers against three Long An defenders and if the pitch was in a better condition, it could have been a whole lot worse for Long An. Then, to compound their misery, they were reduced to ten men after a reckless tackle, made even worse by the conditions, was rightly punished with about ten minutes to spare.
Just to show how dominant Becamex were in the second half, they had seven corners to Long An’s two and countless more efforts on goal and this is a Becamex side who have the second-worst home record in the league. After watching the match, it was easy to see why Long An will be playing outside the V League next year.
Long An will be hoping to finish the season with a bit more credibility as they entertain Can Tho at home next week whilst Becamex travel to Khanh Hoa.
#4 Goals, goals and more goals
As you can see from above, there were goals all over the place in this round of games-- so many that it made it a much more goal-filled league than any of the top leagues in Europe.
The V League had an average of 3.43 goals per game, but how does that compare?
• France’s Ligue 1 had an average of 2.4 goals per game.
• Italy’s Serie A had an average of 2.4 goals per game.
• Spain’s La Liga had an average of 2.6 goals per game.
• England’s Premier League had an average of 3.11 goals per game.
• Germany’s Bundesliga had an average of 3.2 goals per game.
So, as you can see, the V League had 0.23 more goals than its closest competitor which came in the form of Germany’s Bundesliga, yet the V League continues to be overlooked by a lot of people, Vietnamese people included.
The issue is people would much rather watch the likes of Manchester City or Barcelona because it's the fashionable thing to do, but the fact of the matter is that the Vietnamese people have such an entertaining league on their doorstep and it continues to be overlooked. However, if it carries on in the same vein in 2018, it can only be a matter of time before it gets more attention.
#3 Three-way race for the golden boot
With only one game left, the race for the golden boot is finely poised with three players tied on 14 goals and surprisingly, none of the players in the run in for it feature for the teams vying for the title.
Nguy?n Anh ??c who plays for Becamex bagged a brace in the aforementioned game against Long An and he has been an integral part of Becamex’s attack throughout the season.
Without his goals, they would be seven points worse off which would have made unhealthy reading when looking over the league table but with eight of his fourteen coming in the first half of the season, it meant that they were never really in danger of getting relegated this season.
As mentioned, they travel to Khanh Hoa on the final day of the season. If it was at a normal point of the season, you’d fancy Khanh Hoa to win comfortably but with neither team having anything to play for, there’s every possibility that he could add to his tally.
Christian Amougou of Can Tho has made a real difference for the side that sit second bottom of the table this season after moving from Becamex at the start of this season.
If it wasn’t for Amougou’s goals, there would be only three points difference between them and basement side Long An meaning when they face each other this weekend, it would be a nail-biting finish to the season for all involved.
Amougou has got the easiest chance to win the golden boot if you look at things in isolation as Long An have the worst defensive record by some distance but it isn’t helped by the fact that Can Tho are terrible on the road. They’ve only taken four points on the road so far this season meaning they sit bottom of the away table, so it will be an interesting matchup, to say the least.
Errol Stevens is the focal point of Hai Phong’s forward line and is responsible for earning them an extra eleven points with his goals this season. The Jamaican hasn’t scored more than once in any game this season but he has a real fox in the box mentality and tends to get goals when Hai Phong need them the most.
He’ll be hoping to add one or more to his collection of goals this season as Hai Phong travel to Sai Gon on the closing day of the season.
None of the games that the three players are involved in have anything riding on them. So it could be a case where they all score a couple and if this weekend’s results are anything to go by, there could be goals galore yet again.
#2 Stormy Conditions
When it rains, it pours would be a more than ample way of describing the weather tendencies for Vietnam and it was most definitely the case for this round of fixtures.
If we saw those conditions in of the top leagues in Europe that were mentioned earlier, there is no way in the world the games would have gone ahead. An example of how bad it was, when a goal kick was taken, the ball wouldn’t bounce at all, it pretty much just stop when it landed meaning it meant it was even more difficult for the game to be read.
The weather might have played a massive part in the number goals that were scored, yet, there was only one red card, which is a shock if you consider the slide tackles are a lot more amplified in wet, slippy conditions. Although, it could be a testament to the referees that they took the wet into consideration when making decisions.
That is one of the many beauties of the V League-- that you never know what you are going to get weather-wise. It could be ridiculously hot and humid meaning that water breaks are needed every 5-10 minutes or, like yesterday, it could be a constant onslaught of rain hammering down on the ground.
It will certainly be interesting to see how the weather holds up next weekend, for the final round of fixtures.
#1 Five Become Four
It was possible at the start of this weekend’s fixtures that five out of the fourteen teams in the league could still walk away victorious this season. But now, going into the final round of fixtures, it has been cut to four.
The place to be on the final day will undoubtedly be Than Quang Ninh vs Ha Noi as they both can win the title. However, the home side will need a minor miracle. Than Quang Ninh sit three points behind Ha Noi, Thanh Hoa and Quang Nam going into the final day and have a goal difference that is a lot worse.
So, for them to win the title they would need to beat Hanoi 8-0 and hope that Thanh Hoa and ang Nam lose. While it's not impossible but it's most definitely not likely at all.
Than Quang Ninh’s record: P: 25 | W: 12 | D: 6 | L: 7 | GD: 8 | Pts: 42 Last game: Ha Noi (H)
Quang Nam had it in their sights and all they needed to do was beat Ha Noi and they would have gone into the final game three points ahead of the chasing pack. A goal midway through the second half was enough for the reigning champions Ha Noi to succumb Quang Nam to their first away defeat in this half of the season. All they can do now is win their remaining game and hope that Ha Noi and Thanh Hoa slip up.
Quang Nam’s record: P: 25 | W: 12 | D: 9 | L:4 | GD: +12 | Pts: 45 Last game: Ho Chi Minh (H)
Sanna Khanh Hoa finally lost their grip on the trophy as they lost at FLC Thanh Hoa to late goals in both halves. In the first-half stoppage time, Thanh Hoa were awarded a penalty which was duly dispatched and then despite SKH’s persistence and efforts, Thanh Hoa doubled their lead on the stroke of full time leaving them firmly in contention for the title.
FLC Thanh Hoa’s record is like this going into the final day: P: 25 | W: 12 | D: 9 | L: 4 | GD: +14 | Pts: 45 Last game: Song Lam Nghe An (A)
Ha Noi sit top of the table on goal difference going into their final day showdown with Than Quang Ninh. They did very well to prevent Quang Nam from going three points clear as they were in a hot run of form, especially away from home. But Ha Noi stood firm and got the victory when it mattered most.
Their away form isn’t the greatest though as they have only won once away from home in the second half of the season. So it will really take all that they’ve got to get the three points away at Than Quang Ninh.
Ha Noi’s record: P: 25 | W:12 | D: 9 | L: 4 | GD: +23 | Pts: 45 Last game: Than Quang Ninh (A)
The title is Ha Noi’s to lose going into the final weekend; it will be a day full of nerves, excitement and at the end of it, someone will become V League 2017 winners.
