Coach Vu Tien Thanh assessed that the midfield of Ho Chi Minh City Club still plays well with ball control.
Since the beginning of the season, Ho Chi Minh City Club has conceded 27 goals, the most in V-League 2023. Most of the team's central defenders such as Le Cao Hoai An, Nguyen Tang Tien... are not high-quality players.
Coach Vu Tien Thanh even exclaimed "Very boring!" when asked about his team's defense after a 3-5 loss to Hanoi Police Club (CAHN). That is also the main reason why Ho Chi Minh City Club only has 8 points this season and is ranked 12th on the rankings.
Therefore, in the mid-season transfer period, the "Red Battleship" focused on bringing in defensive players.
First, coach Vu Tien Thanh decided to liquidate Jonathan Campbell and replace him with Brendon Lucas. Then, Ho Chi Minh City FC borrowed goalkeeper Patrik Le Giang from CAHN FC.
Center back Adriano Schmidt will stay at Binh Dinh Club, instead of Ho Chi Minh City Club.
That was not enough to reassure, so Ho Chi Minh City FC tried to borrow central defender Adriano Schmidt. It seemed like everything was done, but by the end of July 3, the deal fell through because the two sides could not find a common voice.
In addition, the loan of "sweeper" midfielder Cao Van Trien was also unsuccessful.
If successful, Ho Chi Minh City FC will have a strong "backbone" to stand firm against the storms in phase two. But now, they must continue to rely on individuals in the attack.
In fact, the front line of Ho Chi Minh City FC did not play badly. The midfielders controlled the ball quite well. In the attack, Daniel Green, Victor Mansaray and Hoang Vu Samson were in good form and created a connection.
Cao Van Trien also did not return to Ho Chi Minh City Club in time when the deadline for additional transfers passed.
Both Mansaray and Samson scored 8 goals, among the best scorers in V-League 2023. Thanks to that, Ho Chi Minh City Club scored 19 goals in V.League 2023 - an impressive number.
This achievement is the best in group 2 (6 underdogs competing for relegation in phase 2 of V-League 2023 from the next round). Looking at the whole V-League, they are only behind Ha Tinh, Thanh Hoa (both 20 goals) and the top team CAHN (24 goals).
Ho Chi Minh City FC's attack is expected to play even better when they borrow Huynh Tan Tai from Hanoi Police FC, a player who has proven his talent and experience in the V-League.
Coach Vu Tien Thanh is confident that Ho Chi Minh City Club will successfully stay in the league.
Coach Vu Tien Thanh shared about the improvement of his team: "When Brendon Lucas and Huynh Tan Tai came here, we organized better and controlled better. In the match against Viettel Club, Ho Chi Minh City played well but unfortunately could not take advantage of the opportunity."
The numbers speak for themselves. According to Soccerway, Ho Chi Minh City FC controlled the ball 57% of the time, despite Viettel FC possessing quality midfielders like Nguyen Hoang Duc and Jaha. Coach Vu Tien Thanh’s team also had more shots than their opponents (9 vs. 7) and twice as many corners (10 vs. 5).
Another advantage for Ho Chi Minh City FC at the moment is the match schedule. They will play at Thong Nhat Stadium against Da Nang and Binh Duong, two main rivals in the relegation race. If they win both matches, Ho Chi Minh City FC will likely stay in the league.
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