Winning streak broken by FLC Thanh Hoa, SLNA officially becomes former National Cup champion

Comrade Le Minh Thong - Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Vice Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee and VPF leaders presented flowers to 3 Vietnamese Olympic athletes who performed well at Asiad 2018. Photo: Thanh Cuong

It was no surprise that the two Vietnamese Olympic players, Van Duc and Xuan Manh, were in the starting lineup of SLNA. On the other side, goalkeeper Tien Dung had to sit on the bench. With the home field advantage, the Nghe An team entered the game faster, the ball was continuously passed to the away team's field. The pace of the match in the first minutes was quite fast and exciting.

In the 11th minute, the ball was put into the net of goalkeeper Vu Hai, but the main referee Ngo Duy Lan did not recognize the goal because he thought that a player from FLC Thanh Hoa had fouled the goalkeeper of the home team. The match continued at a fast pace, with tit-for-tat exchanges from players of both teams.

Pham Xuan Manh left the field after the first half. Photo: Thanh Cuong

In that situation, the goal came as a matter of course. After the attacking efforts, the Thanh team scored the opening goal in the 15th minute. Defender Minh Tung was the one who scored with a very quick kick in the SLNA penalty area. In this loss, the fault belonged to the central defender duo Ngoc Hai - Van Khanh when they stood in the wrong position. With the lead, the FLC Thanh Hoa players played better and better. The blue shirts played pressing right next to goalkeeper Vu Hai's goal.

The 1-0 score still could not help the Thanh team qualify for the final match. Therefore, Trong Hoang and his teammates continuously organized attacks, looking for the second goal. On the opposite side of the field, SLNA players showed their instability. The counter-attacks of Van Duc and his teammates were easily broken by FLC Thanh Hoa's defense.

FLC Thanh Hoa played with great enthusiasm. Photo: Thanh Cuong

At the end of the first half, SLNA created a few dangerous attacks, but did not convert them into goals. The two teams left the field with the advantage of only one goal belonging to FLC Thanh Hoa. Overall, in the first 45 minutes of the first half, the players from Thanh Hoa played better. The result of 1 - 0 for the away team was reasonable, given what happened on the field.

Entering the second half, SLNA made their first substitution. Left-back Xuan Manh left the field to make way for his senior Manh Hung. This was a reasonable adjustment for coach Nguyen Duc Thang, because in the previous minutes of the match, the Vietnamese Olympic team played somewhat below their best. The game in the first minutes of the second half was not much different from the first half. Both FLC Thanh Hoa and SLNA did not hesitate to launch attacks on each other's field.

The ball dispute between players of two teams. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Finally, the efforts of the FLC Thanh Hoa players were rewarded with a goal that raised the score to 2 - 0. In the 65th minute, from a corner kick, captain Omar headed the ball accurately into the net of goalkeeper Vu Hai. The marking error in this goal belonged to the player who had just come on to replace Van Duc, Xuan Thang.

Just 3 minutes after Omar's goal, Trong Hoang defeated goalkeeper Vu Hai in a one-on-one situation. The score of 3 - 0 was enough for FLC Thanh Hoa to continue.

With nothing left to lose, the SLNA coaching staff urged their players to attack. However, facing a solid defense from FLC Thanh Hoa, coupled with a serious decline in their fighting spirit, the Nghe An team did not have a single consolation goal. Not only that, in the 84th minute, goalkeeper Vu Hai had to pick the ball out of the net for the fourth time after Rimario's accurate shot.

SLNA's defense, especially the duo Manh Hung - Van Khanh, had a terrible match (the 3rd and 4th goals were directly due to Manh Hung and Van Khanh's faults).

In the remaining minutes, the two teams did not score any more goals. Even in the 3rd minute of extra time, defender Manh Hung was sent off by referee Ngo Duy Lan for a foul. With a 0-4 defeat (3-6 overall), the Nghe team had to accept giving up the ticket to the final match to FLC Thanh Hoa. SLNA officially became the former champion of the 2018 National Cup.

SLNA says goodbye to the 2018 National Cup. Photo: Thanh Cuong

SLNA players sadly received the third prize. Photo: Thanh Cuong

STARTING LINEUP

SLNA: Vu Hai, Van Khanh, Ngoc Hai, Xuan Manh, Dinh Hoang, Ngoc Toan, Khac Ngoc, Van Duc, Xuan Toan, Olaha, Lynch.

FLC Thanh Hoa: Buu Ngoc, Minh Tung, Tien Thanh, Xuan Cuong, Van Nam, Hoang Thinh, Trong Hoang, Van Thang, Dinh Tung, Omar, Rimario.

National Cup first leg: Defeating Thanh Hoa, SLNA puts one foot in the final

(Baonghean.vn) - Without Van Binh on the registration list, but with the excellent performance of two foreign players, Jeremie Lynch and Michael Olaha, SLNA had an emotional match at Thanh Hoa Stadium in the first leg of the 2018 National Cup semi-finals.