Hang Day Stadium

Hang Day - Photo 1.

Minh Vuong (HAGL) and Quang Hai (CAHN) in the first leg. Who will win in the second leg? Photo: VPF

Pressure on Coach Polking

In the first leg, HAGL, despite being rated as the underdog, defeated CAHN 1-0 in Pleiku. Although considered a strong candidate for the championship, CAHN is showing signs of running out of steam in the championship race as they are 9 points behind the top team Nam Dinh. Most recently, they had to struggle to overcome the bottom team SHB Da Nang 2-1 in round 17.

Meanwhile, despite having many young players in the squad and sometimes lacking key players due to penalty cards, HAGL still makes strong teams lose points. The 4-0 victory over B. Binh Duong in Pleiku in round 17 is an example.

Currently ranked 5th on the rankings, CAHN still has a chance to compete for the championship. However, CAHN must improve its inconsistent performance to avoid losing points in the decisive race. The upcoming match is not easy against HAGL - a team that plays very dangerous defensive counter-attacks. Not to mention, the home team CAHN continues to be without striker Leo Artur (8 goals) due to injury. Therefore, the pressure is even greater for coach Alexandre Polking.

HAGL is ready to cause surprise

The resounding victory over B.Binh Duong not only ended a streak of 5 matches with only 2 points, from struggling to avoid relegation, HAGL also jumped to 8th place with 21 points after 17 matches, 4 points less than CAHN.

With a relaxed spirit, HAGL will be more dangerous and ready to create surprises against strong opponents. However, HAGL also encountered difficulties against CAHN due to a serious shortage of players.

In addition to the absence of 22-year-old central defender Pham Ly Duc (injured), HAGL also lacked two midfielders Marciel Silva and Vo Dinh Lam due to suspension. In particular, Marciel Silva is a pillar in HAGL's defensive counter-attacking style of play with 4 goals and 5 assists.

However, Technical Director Vu Tien Thanh confidently said: "HAGL's goal is 1 point. The absence of Marciel Silva and Vo Dinh Lam is a pity. But this is not a disadvantage for HAGL because I will create conditions for young players to compete. This is HAGL's goal and strategy this season. In fact, young players all play well when given the opportunity."

In the victory over B.Binh Duong, HAGL introduced 18-year-old central defender Dinh Quang Kiet (1m92) to replace Pham Ly Duc. In his first start, Quang Kiet performed well when facing strikers Cheick Timite and Tien Linh. It is likely that this young central defender will continue to be trusted in the match against CAHN.

Live broadcast schedule for the remaining 2 matches: Quang Nam - Quy Nhon Binh Dinh (5:00 p.m., FPT Play Live broadcast), Thanh Hoa - Song Lam Nghe An (6:00 p.m., FPT Play Live broadcast).

Viktor Le shines

On the evening of April 11, The Cong - Viettel Club was held to a 2-2 draw by the home team Hong Linh Ha Tinh (HLHT) in the early match of round 18 of the V-League 2024 - 2025. Huu Thang and Khuat Van Khang scored twice to put the away team ahead, while Mbo Noel and Huynh Tien Dat scored twice to equalize for the home team.

Notably, both goals of HLHT were assisted by 22-year-old Russian-Vietnamese player Viktor Le. This is something that could not be happier for Coach Kim Sang Sik in the preparation process for SEA Games 33.