Red alert for SLNA's attack after a lackluster match with Thanh Hoa

Explaining this, coach Ngo Quang Truong said: "Phan Van Duc is our best player. When he played well in recent matches, the opponent of course had to find a way to block and limit Phan Van Duc's strengths. In previous matches, we had many opportunities to score. In this match, the two teams understood each other very well. Neither side had many opportunities to bring the ball to each other's goal. Both teams played tightly, so scoring opportunities were limited. SLNA will have to improve more to not be too dependent on Phan Van Duc."

SLNA's playing style is too dependent on Phan Van Duc. Photo courtesy of Trung Kien

Coach Ngo Quang Truong's comments are completely correct. In addition to Phan Van Duc being neutralized, the remaining players on SLNA's attack line also did not perform well in their assigned tasks. The foreign duo Peter Onyekachi - Alagie Sosseh still played poorly, while Ho Tuan Tai was losing his "killer instinct" and inherent sharpness. Phan Van Duc alone was not enough against the dense, focused and equally fierce defense system of the home team, under the command of center-back Epassi.

After the first 4 matches of V.League 2020, SLNA has only scored 2 goals and is the team with the least effective attack, only better than Thanh Hoa, SLNA's opponent in the last round. Both goals of the Nghe team belonged to Phan Van Duc, a player who has just returned after a long period of injury. As long as Ho Tuan Tai, Peter Onyekachi and Alagie Sosseh have not found the opponent's net, coach Ngo Quang Truong still has a headache with the problem of depending on Duc "tiger".
The incompetence of the strikers is very obvious, except for Phan Van Duc, but the players playing in the defense line cannot be blameless. During the entire match against Thanh Hoa, the central midfielder pair Bui Dinh Chau - Dang Van Lam and the full-back duo Tran Dinh Dong - Nguyen Sy Nam were almost always just hanging around the home field. Because they did not have the necessary support from their teammates playing below, the players in the attack line were always in a state of hunger for the ball, being divided and isolated, even when veteran Nguyen Quang Tinh was put on the field.

SLNA's troops are mainly focused on the defensive front. Photo courtesy of Sy Hien

Over-reliance on Phan Van Duc has made SLNA's attacks lack diversity and surprise. If Phan Van Duc is blocked, SLNA's attacking power will be almost zero. Simply, the Nghe An team's playing style is too monotonous, with familiar "playbooks" such as sending Nguyen Quang Tinh and Tran Dinh Tien onto the field in the second half, replacing Dang Van Lam and Alagie Sosseh. Therefore, coach Nguyen Thanh Cong has helped Thanh Hoa's defense easily "break" the attacks and quick counter-attacks of Phan Van Duc and his teammates.