After the rain, will the sky be bright?

HAGL cannot control psychology

"HAGL studied Binh Duong Club's playing style and had a good approach, but after making mistakes, it showed their mentality. HAGL has some young players who do not have enough experience to stay calm and control their emotions in tense matches," Coach Le Quang Trai shared after HAGL's 1-4 loss to Binh Duong in round 6 of LPBank V-League 2024 - 2025.

Initially, HAGL set a goal of getting points from Go Dau Stadium, in a "dangerous area" that the team's coaching staff confirmed would be difficult to leave with 3 points. Binh Duong Club is unbeaten in 8 of the last 10 home matches, of which 5 matches scored 3 goals or more into the opponent's net. In contrast, HAGL only won 2 of 7 away matches. Right from the beginning of the tournament, the team of technical director (GĐKT) Vu Tien Thanh determined: Pleiku Stadium is the place for HAGL to seek victory, and playing away, 1 point is the first goal.

HAGL lost heavily to Binh Duong Club

Therefore, a dream start at Go Dau Stadium with Pham Ly Duc's opening goal, followed by two consecutive defensive errors in the first half to create conditions for Nguyen Tien Linh to score, pushed HAGL to two ends of the emotional seesaw. The mountain town team started off excitedly, then when the emotions were extinguished at the moment Binh Duong Club turned the tables, HAGL could no longer control the game.

Before the match against Binh Duong FC, HAGL had been unbeaten in 5 matches in the V-League, conceding only 1 goal. However, in the end, this is still a team lacking in experience. Both teams are young (Binh Duong also has young stars such as Bui Vi Hao, Vo Hoang Minh Khoa), but HAGL is more immature because many players lack experience in the V-League as well as international tournaments. With a team operating on a youthful foundation, fragility and lack of psychological control when put in an unfavorable situation is inevitable.

Last season, HAGL suffered heavy losses against Hanoi Police Club (0-5) and Ho Chi Minh City Club (1-4) with the same scenario as the defeat at Binh Duong: a good start, but quickly falling apart when facing disadvantages in the game. Indeed, HAGL has matured during the time when Vu Tien Thanh and Le Quang Trai took turns coaching, thanks to changing the playing philosophy and improving the competitive spirit. However, a team cannot completely transform in just 1 year.

HAGL lost excitement despite leading

There are still fragile traces left from the "remnants" of the past, which HAGL needs experiences (even painful ones) to recognize and progress. The defeat against Binh Duong Club is a bucket of cold water that will test the true mettle of the mountain town team. Being undefeated for 5 matches is difficult, getting up after a defeat is many times more difficult.

When the excitement passes, what is left for HAGL? The upcoming matches are the answer.

Question mark force

To compete in the V-League, teams cannot only rely on their main squad, but also need quality reserves. With these "trump cards", the head coach can both turn the game around and plan to rotate players for the long-term battle.

That is the factor that Binh Duong Club has, but HAGL does not. In the match at Go Dau, Coach Hoang Anh Tuan and his students won 4-1, when on the bench there were still Nguyen Hai Huy, Nghiem Xuan Tu who had not been used, not to mention foreign player Janclesio, young defender Vo Minh Trong, all of whom are of good quality, ready to enter the field depending on the match situation.

On the contrary, what does HAGL have besides Ho Minh Quyen, Nguyen Huu Anh Tai, Nguyen Thanh Nhan, Nguyen Van Trieu or Le Huu Phuoc, all of whom have in common the fact that they are unfamiliar to most V-League fans?

The gap between the main and reserve players at HAGL is not small.

Because of their thin squad, HAGL will fall into a state of confusion if "plan A" fails. This is a reality that the Pleiku team has anticipated since the beginning of the season. When the key players left 2 years ago, the tight transfer budget made it impossible for HAGL to bring in replacement stars. The team had to make do with self-trained players and unknown foreign players.

Therefore, the early season excitement did not cause HAGL to deviate from the target trajectory set by Technical Director Vu Tien Thanh: stay in the league first, then think about the next step.

HAGL needs time to answer the question "after the rain, will the sky be bright?" With a detailed plan and a mindset ready to accept setbacks, hopefully Mr. Duc's team will find a way to overcome them.

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Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hagl-sau-con-mua-troi-co-sang-185241104174153084.htm