* V.League: Patiyo misses penalty, XSKT Can Tho continue to sink into crisis
The capital team are on the right track to make the 2018 season the most successful in their V.League participation. Manager Chu Dinh Nghiem’s side has been showing exceptional form on all fronts so far, claiming the V.League trophy with five games to go and having one hand on a place in the National Cup final.
The Round 23 triumph over Hoang Anh Gia Lai on September 19 was the 18th win and the 22nd unbeaten match for Hanoi FC in the 2018 V.League. By winning the full three points at Pleiku Stadium, Hanoi FC reached the highest points total in V.League history with 58 points, three more than the previous record set by Binh Duong in the 2007 season.
Hanoi FC still have the chance to further smash the record as there are three matches left before the 2018 V.League season comes to a close. In addition, Nghiem’s side will make history as the V.League champions with the fewest losses if they go unbeaten in all of three of their remaining league clashes. Earlier in 2007, Becamex Binh Duong only suffered three defeats, two more than Hanoi’s current figure.
Ninth-placed Ho Chi Minh City FC have successfully escaped automatic relegation as they crushed their neighbouring rivals Saigon FC by five straight goals to achieve 27 points, ten clear of bottom-placed XSKT Can Tho, a gap that cannot be cleared regardless of the results of the remaining stages.
Ho Chi Minh City FC (in red) have successfully escaped automatic relegation by trouncing Saigon FC 5-0 in the 23rd round of the 2018 V.League.
It was the second commanding win in a row for manager Toshiya Miura’s side following their 5-3 triumph over Hoang Anh Gia Lai in the previous round. With a strongly improved fighting spirit, the southern team can now think of competing for a place in the top seven, and even top five at the end of the season, as they are only three to five points behind the higher placed opponents. However, Miura and his players are not allowed to be negligent, because it is still possible for them to fall into the relegation play-off if they do not manage more wins.
Bottom-placed XSKT Can Tho have moved very close to automatic relegation after a 0-1 defeat to Becamex Binh Duong, their seventh consecutive V.League loss. Perhaps, the hopes of manager Quang Bao’s side are now only focused on securing a play-off place against Nam Dinh FC (three points above) and Saigon FC (five points above). However, in order to realise such hopes, the Mekong Delta team will have to beat fellow strugglers, Nam Dinh FC, when they host the northern team in the 26th (last) round of play.
Newly promoted Nam Dinh FC are making quiet and careful steps towards the goal of avoiding automatic relegation and the relegation play-off at the end of the 2018 season. Despite having no resounding victories, manager Nguyen Van Sy and his players clearly demonstrated their determination to retain a place in next year’s V.League by claiming their second consecutive draw (2-2 against FLC Thanh Hoa and 1-1 against Hai Phong FC). Being just two to seven points behind the higher-placed teams, 13th-placed Nam Dinh still have an opportunity to fulfill their ambition if they maintain their current form for the next two games and overcome XSKT Can Tho in their 26th round encounter.
In the leading group, FLC Thanh Hoa made use of the Round 23 draws of Sanna Khanh Hoa BVN and Song Lam Nghe An to retake their place in the top three by demolishing former champions Quang Nam FC 5-0. Manager Nguyen Duc Thang’s side is now only three points behind second-placed Sanna Khanh Hoa and one-point clear of fourth-placed Song Lam Nghe An. The remaining stage of the silver and bronze medal race promises to be full of excitement and thrills as the three teams will have face-to-face meetings in the last three matches of the 2018 V.League.
