The national V League 2016 football season has now come to an end, and after the 26 games SHB Da Nang have finished in 3^rd place - frustratingly only 2 points short of winning it.

24-goal Merlo in celebratory mood (Photo: Internet)

Ha Noi T&T are the 2016 champions on 50 points, with Hai Phong in 2^nd place also on 50, but with a slightly worse goal difference.  SHB DN’s 49 points have come from 15 wins and 4 draws.

In yesterday’s final match of the season, SHB DN had a comprehensive 0-4 win away at bottom-of-the-table Dong Thap, but that wasn’t quite enough for them to take the title.  It did however seal Dong Thap’s fate.

SHB DN made a good start to their season, and they finished well too.  However, it was their dip in form in the middle which they will be regretting, plus perhaps the more recent 3-4 home loss to Quang Nam when a lead was turned into a loss in the final 10 minutes.  Defeat snatched from the jaws of victory!

Nevertheless, SHB DN have dramatically improved this year after finishing the 2015 season in only 9^th place.  This has to be mainly attributed to the inspired re-signing of Argentinian striker Gaston Merlo at the start of the season.  We featured him in our 11 March 2016 story ‘Merlo the Magician’ http://baodanang.vn/english/culture-sport/201603/meet-merlo-the-magician-2474125

Missing through injury for the 2015 season and not under contract, the club still had sufficient confidence in his abilities to take the gamble of re-signing him for this year.  He has repaid them well, and he fully deserves his ‘magician’ tag.  In the V League games he has scored 24 goals - 4 times getting a couple, and then a hat-trick in the last game of the season.  This makes him not only the club’s top scorer (3 times as many goals as anyone else, and responsible for half of SHB DN’s season total), but he is also the top scorer in all the V League.  His 24 is 9 more than 2^nd-placed Samson from Ha Noi T&T achieved.

Despite Merlo approaching 32 by the start of next season, SHB DN will be well advised to keep him on their books.  There seem to be many more goals in the old dog yet!

We offer our congratulations to Gaston Merlo and the whole SHB DN club, and we wish them an even more successful 2017 season.  You have done the city proud.

(Written by Ian Lister)