The defeat of Thep Xanh Nam Dinh and the victory of host Becamex Binh Duong have made the race for the Night Wolf V.League 1 2023/24 championship extremely unpredictable in the final stretch.
In the latest match of Round 19, The Cong Viettel and Thep Xanh Nam Dinh delivered an emotional and intense performance until the final whistle. Thep Xanh Nam Dinh took an early lead with a beautiful combination between Hendrio and Van Toan. Despite relentless efforts, The Cong Viettel equalized in the second half.
A surprise came in the last minutes of the match when young talent Cong Phuong, in his V-League debut, assisted Danh Trung to score the decisive goal, securing a 2-1 victory for The Cong Viettel. Notably, both Cong Phuong and Danh Trung are products of The Cong Viettel’s youth academy, along with Duc Chien, who scored the equalizer. This match highlighted the club’s successful homegrown talent development.
For Thep Xanh Nam Dinh, this was their second consecutive match without securing three points, significantly narrowing their lead over the trailing teams. A day before the The Cong Viettel-Thep Xanh Nam Dinh clash, Becamex Binh Duong delivered an outstanding performance at home, defeating Cong An Ha Noi 4-1. This victory reduced their point gap with Thep Xanh Nam Dinh to just six points, rekindling their championship hopes and those of other teams.
After Round 19, Thep Xanh Nam Dinh remains at the top of the standings, but several clubs are closely trailing with only a one-match or slightly larger point difference. Therefore, it’s too early to make any definitive predictions about the eventual champion of this season.
The competition among the lower-ranked teams is equally fierce. The Cong Viettel and Hong Linh Ha Tinh climbed to relatively safe positions after valuable wins in Round 19. Meanwhile, in the relegation battle, SLNA secured a crucial three points against Khanh Hoa, closely following the teams above them. The point difference between Khanh Hoa and SLNA is still surmountable, keeping the escape door open for all teams, as the gap from 13th place SLNA to 8th place Hong Linh Ha Tinh is just five points.
Round 19 also witnessed the near-total dominance of home teams. Except for MerryLand Quy Nhon Binh Dinh being held to a draw by Hai Phong, the other six home teams won their matches, strengthening their positions in the standings.
This round was also explosive in terms of goals scored, with a total of 22 goals, averaging 3.17 goals per match, and no match ending in a 0-0 draw. Vietnam national team head coach Kim Sang Sik will surely be pleased to witness such intense and high-quality competition in the Night Wolf V.League 1 2023/24.
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