The spirit of the reigning champions

Báo Thanh niên•07/01/2025

Defending champions squeeze through a narrow gap to advance.

After a 0-2 defeat against the Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport in their opening match of Group 1, coach Pham Thai Vinh of the defending champions, the Ho Chi Minh City University of Physical Education and Sports, stated that their chances of advancing were very slim. However, a surprise occurred when the Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport lost to the Saigon Polytechnic College, rekindling hope for the defending champions.

Bản lĩnh đội đương kim vô địch- Ảnh 1. — Defending champions Ho Chi Minh City University of Physical Education and Sports *(left)* dramatically secure a place in the play-off round.

In yesterday's final match (January 7th) against Saigon Polytechnic College, Ho Chi Minh City University of Physical Education and Sports needed to win by at least two goals to advance, while their opponent only needed a draw or a narrow defeat to achieve first place in the group. The defending champions showed their mettle by dominating the game and having a dream start, leading by two goals within the first 16 minutes. Saigon Polytechnic College fought back strongly, dominating the game at times, but failed to score and conceded another goal in the second half.

Winning 3-0 against Saigon Polytechnic College gave Ho Chi Minh City University of Physical Education and Sports the same 6 points as Saigon Polytechnic College and Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport, but secured first place in this group and a ticket to the play-off round. The reason is that the defending champion had a better goal difference (+1 compared to 0 for Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport and -1 for Saigon Polytechnic College).

Sharing his thoughts after the spectacular comeback to secure a place in the play-offs, Coach Pham Thai Vinh of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Physical Education and Sports team said: "My team and I only had one option: to win, and we had to win by a margin of two goals, so we were very determined. This also created pressure for the players, but they played well, showed their mettle, and thus achieved the goal of securing a place in the play-offs. The goal of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Physical Education and Sports team is to play well in the play-offs to qualify for the finals."

IMPRESSIVE TEAM FROM HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS

Also yesterday, the Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics team continued to show impressive form with a 4-1 victory over the University of Science (Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City) team. Participating in the tournament for the first time, the Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics team demonstrated their potential and readiness to compete with strong opponents.

After two matches, the Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics team has the same 6 points as the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education team. The two teams will face each other in the final match to determine the first and second place in Group 7 and a spot in the play-off round. This is also a group where, if the two teams draw in the final match, the second-placed team with 7 points also has a good chance of securing a play-off spot for the best-performing second-placed team.

Today's schedule (January 8):

Group E (Ho Chi Minh City area):

9:00 AM: Hung Vuong University, Ho Chi Minh City - Ho Chi Minh City University of Law

3 PM: Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance - Van Hien University

5:30 PM: Gia Dinh University - Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry

Group D (Southeast region):

2 PM: Lilama 2 International College of Technology - Dong Nai University of Technology

4 PM: Sonadezi College of Technology and Management - Ba Ria-Vung Tau University

Group B (Central Coastal region):

9:00 AM: University of Science (Hue University) - University of Economics (Hue University)

13:30: Da Nang University of Physical Education and Sports - University of Law (Hue University)

3:30 PM: FPT Polytechnic University - Hue University