Dak Lak Football Club is ready for promotion target

08:02, June 1, 2023

Dak Lak Football Club has officially entered the competition in the 2023 National Second Division with the goal of returning to V.League 2 after a year of relegation. Coach Tran Phi Ai and his team have made the best preparations for the battle for a promotion ticket.

In the 2022 season, after 10 seasons in the National First Division, Dak Lak Football Club was relegated in the final round. A series of key players have found new destinations or had to retire, so the squad is seriously damaged, with only 11 veterans who fought in the First Division remaining.

Therefore, the coaching board had to supplement and borrow players from the teams of Hai Phong, Nam Dinh , Khanh Hoa along with some young strikers who had grown up from the talented line to add to the squad. A series of names that the Dak Lak audience had never heard of such as Luong Van Phuc, Nguyen Van Tiep, Huynh Vuong Quoc Thinh, Tran Nhu Tan, Bui Anh Duc... "arrived" and joined the veterans of Dak Lak Football Club long before the tournament officially started.

Among these faces, it is worth noting that central defender Nguyen Van Huy from Khanh Hoa has experience in the toughest football tournament, V.League 1. This new player, who will be given the number 20 shirt, will be an important addition, strengthening the solidity in front of the goal of the Buon Ma Thuot Stadium team in the context of veteran central defender Do Xuan Thi being injured and likely to be out until the end of the qualifying round.

Goalkeeper Y Eli Nie practices, ready to conquer the promotion goal with his teammates.

Regarding the final blocking position of the team, after goalkeeper Ngo Van Nhat retired, goalkeeper Y Eli Nie - who was in the Vietnam U23 team and won the Southeast Asian U23 Football Championship with the team - was given the responsibility of "goalkeeper". His return after a long period of injury will somewhat reassure the fans.

A big change on the coaching bench is the return of Coach Tran Phi Ai - who helped Dak Lak Football Club to be promoted to play in the First Division in 2013. The return of this experienced coach shows the determination of the sports industry leaders to promote their team. Coach Tran Phi Ai's talent is expected to help the team develop its full strength thanks to the combination of the experience of veterans and the youth of the players. He affirmed that he will unite with the team of players, do his best, at all costs to help the team regain the trust and image of Dak Lak football in the hearts of fans. He also commented that the chance of Dak Lak football being promoted is "quite bright", because there are 2.5 promotion slots, including two direct tickets.

Dak Lak Football Club players practice to prepare for the promotion goal.

Dak Lak Football Club has materialized its determination in the first match with a successful comeback, defeating Lam Dong team 2-1 in the Tay Nguyen derby in the opening match of the season. In this match, it can be seen that the Dak Lak team's playing style is not coherent and lacks cohesion. That is understandable when the new and old players could not find a common voice in the first match. However, the goal of 3 points has been completed, Coach Tran Phi Ai still has a lot of time to adjust positions and tactics more appropriately.

The 2023 National Second Division Football Tournament has 14 participating teams. Dak Lak Football Club is in Group A with the presence of the teams: Gama Vinh Phuc, Lam Dong, Luxury Ha Long, PVF, SHB Da Nang Youth, Quang Nam Youth. Meanwhile, Group B includes the teams: Ho Chi Minh City Youth, Gia Dinh, Dong Nai, Tien Giang, Dong Thap, Dugong Kien Giang and Vinh Long.

According to the regulations, the teams will play a round-robin tournament with two matches at home and away. The first and second teams in each group will qualify for the Final Round, which will take place from August 13 to August 16, 2023, and will be paired according to the prescribed code. The two winning teams will qualify for the 2023-2024 National First Division. The two losing teams will compete to determine which team will play a play-off with the 10th-placed team in the 2023 National First Division for a place in the 2023-2024 National First Division. The two teams at the bottom of each group will be relegated to the Third Division the following year.

Dang Trieu

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