Binh Duong - SLNA (0-1): Lucky but not good

Round 1, V.League 2022, SLNA played away against B.BD but it can be said that they completely dominated the match. The away team always had 55% more ball control time than the home team, launched more shots and scored 1 goal... are the indicators that convincingly prove that. It may not be a stable strength, but what the young coach Huy Hoang has done is a good start, favorable for the fierce race ahead.

First of all, Huy Hoang's bold change of SLNA's playing lineup according to the advanced and popular "model" currently used like the Vietnam National Team or the world's number 1 football team Chelsea is a change that deserves to be commended.

Despite playing away, Nghe An fans dominated. Photo: Zing.vn

For a long time, all youth teams and the first team of SLNA have been operating the 4-4-2 formation, so familiar that many opposing coaches have fully imagined how SLNA will play before entering the match to have a countermeasure. Opponents criticized, public opinion criticized and SLNA's rapid decline last season forced Huy Hoang to renew, redo, there is no other way if he really wants the team to gradually regain its inherent position. Of course, Huy Hoang fully understands that no matter what formation, the quality of the players is still the most important factor. And now is the time for this young coach to roll up his sleeves and get to work.

During the training and friendly matches before the tournament, SLNA played with a new 3-5-2 formation. In the opening match B.BD-SLNA, Huy Hoang arranged 3 central defenders including Ngoc Hai on the left, captain Van Khanh in the middle and Ba Sang on the right. This alone shows that SLNA still entrusts the responsibility of commanding the team to the familiar and successor "family member" Van Khanh, while both Ngoc Hai, who has just returned, and young Ba Sang have to adapt to new positions, as for a long time in the national team as well as the club, these 2 players have played in the center of the defense. It is unclear why the naturalized foreign player Truong An has not been able to enter the field, but it shows that SLNA still has enough replacements if there is any problem in the 3-man defense in the upcoming matches.

SLNA striker celebrates his goal. Photo courtesy

Another change is that Xuan Manh plays as an attacking defender on the left wing, leaving the right wing to Dinh Hoang. It is very likely that when Trong Hoang returns, this formation will continue to be supplemented with additional forces, adding attack power and SLNA will not only have a perfect pair of wingbacks Trong Hoang - Xuan Manh but also Dinh Hoang, Van Viet... SLNA's midfield line will arrange Jong Mark to play behind as an anchor and Van Duc on the left as usual, Van Lam on the right. The attack line will still maintain the long-standing tradition of arranging 2 foreign players Olaha and Basit, forcing the opponent as low as possible.

The match was not easy for Huy Hoang when the two wingbacks were constantly closely watched by the opponent. Xuan Manh could not get up to the left wing which was not his forte, while Dinh Hoang had a few situations of coordination and crossing the ball but it was not effective, not to mention if the home team was lucky, Eydison could have made a difference and the fault was Dinh Hoang's failure to defend well? SLNA did not get any corner kicks throughout the match, which clearly showed that?

It is also very difficult for the SLNA striker pair when they rarely find each other, so Olaha must return to the familiar way of playing wide, attracting the opponent's closeness and finding opportunities from his partner Van Duc. Someone said that, in reality, the striker pair is arranged to play closest to the opponent's goal but SLNA does not have a target striker, so there is a story that the foreign players often pass the ball into empty spaces and Dinh Hoang's crosses do not meet any ideal cut-off points to end as desired?

Huy Hoang after the match said SLNA won by luck, which is probably not wrong. That situation had a sudden change from Olaha's shot that bounced off the opponent, Basit quickly rushed in while the home team's goalkeeper made a fatal personal mistake as the veteran coach Dang Tran Chinh said. The away team was more proactive, played more clearly, defended more tightly, played with more enthusiasm (so there were more yellow cards) but the home team actually played well, it was not easy for the away team to create a real difference throughout the match.

Of course, B.BD has not won against SLNA for a long time, so the result of the first round of V.League 2022 is not a "high-dose test" while coach Huy Hoang's team still shows many unsatisfactory things. SLNA plays fiercely, not afraid of collisions, which is familiar and necessary, but receiving many unnecessary yellow cards will harm the team later. SLNA still lacks a player who really knows how to control the match, knows how to pass the assist pass, the pass with high damage?

Hopefully time will help answer those questions along with the self-assessment of the experiences of teachers and students when facing different opponents. One thing that needs to be affirmed is that SLNA is entering the new season with high confidence, high determination and enough capacity to regain what they have. In the upcoming match at Vinh Stadium in round 2 against T. Binh Dinh, will the "new rich guy" contribute to proving that?