HÀ NỘI — Sông Lam Nghệ An Football Club (FC) are ensuring an optimum performance at the National Cup.

They will book a berth in the final match even if they lose to hosts Quảng Nam in the second leg of the semi-finals today at the Quảng Nam Stadium in Tam Kỳ City.

The former champions won 4-1 in the first leg of the match on September 27. A minimum loss of 0-1 or even 0-2 would push Sông Lam Nghệ An into the finals, due to their better goal difference.

Sông Lam Nghệ An under coach, Nguyễn Hữu Thắng, moved to Quảng Nam’s neighbouring city of Đà Nẵng for several days to practice.

The team is in a comfortable position with four wins, one draw and one loss in all domestic tournaments. In the last four matches, they lost to Quảng Nam by one goal.

“I am happy with my players who are always trying their best at every match,” said Thắng. “We are really determined to win the National Cup for the fourth time. Now, we are at the semi-finals, just one more step towards becoming finalists,” he said.

Sông Lam Nghệ An won the National Cup in 2001, 2002 and 2010.

Thắng will put forward his strongest line-up, who he said were ready for the upcoming match.

On the other hand, apart from a defeat at the National Cup’s semi-final, Quảng Nam FC have shown an outstanding performance at the Premier League that saw them standing at No. 3 after 20 rounds. They have the same number of points as second-placed Hà Nội FC and only two points less than the winner, FLC Thanh Hóa.

Coach Hoàng Văn Phúc has the support of national team members Đinh Thanh Trung and Nguyễn Huy Hùng. Other players such as Phan Thanh Hưng, Hà Minh Tuấn, Thiago and Dos Reis Claudecir make up a thick defence and strong midfield against any rival.

Before losing to Sông Lam Nghệ An last week, Quảng Nam  beat “big stone” Hải Phòng and “dark horse” Cần Thơ.

Phúc and his players will have a home ground advantage and local supporters on their side in this match. They need to score as many as three goals and suffer none.

The match will be aired live on VTV6 channel from 5pm.

The second semi-final match is between Becamex Bình Dương and SHB Đà Nẵng at the Gò Đậu Stadium in Bình Dương City.

In the first match, Bình Dương won 3-1 at Đà Nẵng’s holy land of Xuân Hòa Stadium.

The second semis will be broadcast live on BTV2 channel, from 5pm. — VNS