After their 2-2 away draw against Hoang Anh Gia Lai at the Pleiku Stadium last Saturday, SHB Da Nang dropped into 3^rd place in the league.  However, today at 4pm they have another chance to take over the top spot when they play 9^th in the table Dong Nai at the Dong Nai Stadium. 

SHB DN’s coach Le Huynh Duc and his squad are cautious of the power of their opponents after they were be held to a goalless draw at home by Dong Nai on 6 July.

SHB DN were held to a goalless draw at home on 6 July by Dong Nai

There appears to have been a significant decrease recently in the physical strength of Duc’s key players, including strikers Merlo and Nguyen Sa, and midfielder Minh Phuong.  The young players such as Hung Son, Minh Tuan, and especially Quoc Anh, have also not yet met the expectations of their coach, or the home fans.  Furthermore, striker Milorad has often suffered from long-term injuries. 

Coach Duc needs to better motivate his team, who have not impressed recently with only 2 wins and 3 draws in their last 5 games.  Fortunately, no other team has won more than 2 of their last 5 either.  The top 4 positions are very close and a run of wins by any of those teams could now give them the league title.