On the evening of April 25, The Cong Viettel club won 1-0 against Song Lam Nghe An in round 20 of V.League 2024-2025. This is the match in which The Cong Viettel had to temporarily rent Hang Day as their home stadium.
However, The Cong Viettel cannot use the dressing room, LED lights as well as the new lighting system on the second floor of stands A and B because these are items that the Hanoi Police team has invested in upgrading to serve their home matches.
Therefore, The Cong Viettel had to borrow a functional room at the stadium to convert it into a dressing room. They also have to rent an outside LED screen that is smaller than the current LED screen that Hanoi FC and Hanoi Police are using to make a scoreboard.
After the match with Song Lam Nghe An, coach Nguyen Duc Thang of The Cong Viettel confided: "If we talk about something that makes The Cong Viettel feel unfamiliar, it is the dressing room. We have identified My Dinh Stadium as our home stadium, so this is still a temporary stadium.
We were not completely comfortable. The dressing room we used was a makeshift, cramped room. My players didn't have what they should have to have to prepare for the match. This greatly affects the match".
However, this coach is still satisfied with his players' performance. He said: "Song Lam Nghe An played very well. We had a hard time controlling the ball against this opponent. They pressed continuously, giving our striker few chances. Whether going down to the two edges or approaching the penalty area, it will be pushed back to the distance.
I had to make changes in the second half to have different approach opportunities. When overcoming difficulties to score, players are relieved. Hopefully, this victory will help us have better future matches."
Meanwhile, coach Phan Nhu Thuat of Song Lam Nghe An said: "Not being able to practice getting acquainted with Hang Day Stadium before the match has a slight impact on Song Lam Nghe An. However, that was not the main factor that caused our team to lose to The Cong Viettel".
The captain of Song Lam Nghe An also expressed optimism about this year's relegation race.
"The relegation race is still long. V.League 2024-2025 has 6 more rounds to end, so it is not known in advance what will happen to Song Lam Nghe An. I think the relegation battle this year will not end until the final matches," said coach Phan Nhu Thuat.
