'Insiders' speak out

Former coach and players of Dong Thap have a winning start

The match between Van Hien University and Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry in Group 7 was the highlight match of yesterday's competition day. Notably, Van Hien University has a very professional coaching staff, with head coach Nguyen Anh Tong having led Dong Thap Club to play in the first division, and assistant Nguyen Van Ngan being the former captain of the lotus country team playing in the V-League before. Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry is also a name that has made a splash in the 11-a-side student football arena.

'Người trong nghề' lên tiếng- Ảnh 1. — Van Hien University team *(left)* won convincingly despite playing with one less player from the second half.

The two teams gave the audience intense minutes of competition, with continuous counter-attack situations. Van Hien University team has many agile players, with good techniques, aiming for a passing style of play, using many passes but also being strong when necessary. Coach Nguyen Anh Tong's team had the opening goal in the first half by Nguyen Thanh Lich. In the second half, Van Hien University team faced difficulties, having to play with one less player from the 53rd minute because Tran Duy Khanh received two yellow cards and had to leave the field. However, with the experience of true "professionals", coach Nguyen Anh Tong and assistant Nguyen Van Ngan steered their team to play sharp defensive counter-attacks. In the situation of being short of players, striker Thanh Lich continued to shine to help Van Hien University team win 2-0 against Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry.

FIRST HAT-TRICK

Compared to the first tournament - 2023, the Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry team has many changes, especially without the service of the main striker Le Nguyen Truong Nhan. However, coach Phan Hoang Vu promptly added new players from the first year students, possessing good physique and making very rapid progress. In the first match against the University of Natural Sciences - Ho Chi Minh City National University (HCMUT) on the morning of January 9, the Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry team with much superior human quality dominated the game from the beginning.

Notably, the players of Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry showed great strength in passing long balls with quite accurate landing points. One of such situations brought the opening goal for coach Phan Hoang Vu's team in the 30th minute, when Nguyen Cong Hai pressed well and finished accurately in a situation facing the opposing team's goalkeeper. Also from a similar ball deployment, if luckier, the Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry team could have even doubled the gap before entering the break. On the other side, the University of Natural Sciences team had 2 fast wingers, but their attacks were not really sharp, so they were easily broken by the opposing defense. The Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry team had 2 more goals thanks to Pham Van Tinh and Nguyen Le Anh Minh to defeat the University of Natural Sciences with a final score of 3-0.

In the remaining match of group 6, the team of Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance (HCMUEF) did not encounter many difficulties to win a resounding 5-0 victory over the team of Hung Vuong University, Ho Chi Minh City. Dinh Son Hung's first goal from a direct free kick in the 2nd Vietnam Youth Student Tournament - 2024 THACO Cup (TNSV THACO Cup 2024) helped the team of Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance take the lead in the 6th minute. Having an early opening goal gave coach Le Van Khoa's team a mental advantage and made it easy to deploy the game as intended. In particular, striker Son Hung made a strong impression when contributing 3 goals. This was also the first hat-trick of the THACO Cup 2024. Nguyen Duy Quang and Nguyen Bao Duy were the two remaining players who scored, helping the team of Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance win their first 3 points.