Playing a reasonable defense, Song Lam Nghe An forced the home team Thanh Hoa to share points.

Que Ngoc Hai directed the defense well, preventing the home team from creating many opportunities in front of Van Tien's goal. Photo: Xuan Thuy

Recalling last season, the Nghe An team lost 0-2 to neighboring Thanh Hoa team. Entering this season whileLam River Nghe AnLosing the mainstay Van Duc, the Thanh team has been supplemented with extremely high-quality contracts. These include the foreign duo Condrado and Bruno Catanhede, domestic player Lam Ti Phong... With the depth of the squad, Dong A Thanh Hoa won 2-1 right on Khanh Hoa's field in Round 1 of V.league 2023.

Returning home, Coach Popov's team was fueled by thousands of home fans. The atmosphere in the stands became more enthusiastic with the sound of drums and trumpets and the constant cheering of Thanh Hoa fans.

Young midfielder Tran Nam Hai played very well, neutralizing Thanh Hoa's attacks. Photo: Xuan Thuy

Before this match, Tran Nam Hai sent out a message asking Song Lam Nghe An fans to come to Thanh Hoa stadium to cheer and boost the excitement for the home team. However, there were no Nghe An fans present, even though the geographical distance between Thanh Hoa and Nghe An is not too great.

Therefore, Song Lam Nghe An's trip to Thanh Hoa Stadium in this round is predicted to be extremely difficult.

In terms of personnel, the home team has a completely fit squad. Meanwhile, Song Lam Nghe An is missing some important pillars such as goalkeeper Van Hoang and midfielder Dinh Tien. To overcome the opponent's strengths, coach Huy Hoang chose a 5-3-2 formation to approach the match.

The pitch was bad, forcing both teams to attack with high-speed passes. Photo: Xuan Thuy

With many advantages, however, Dong A Thanh Hoa entered the game somewhat cautiously. In addition, the bad pitch also affected the small coordination ability of both sides. During the first half, there were very few opportunities created by the two teams. Thanh Hoa's intentional passing and passing moves were no longer seen, but mainly this team used high ball passing, allowing foreign players to use their height to threaten the opponent's goal.

Although Thanh Hoa had more ball possession time than Song Lam Nghe An. However, coach Huy Hoang's students were the team that had the first chance of the match. In the 11th minute, in an attack situation, Ngoc Hai sent a pass that Xuan Manh entered the penalty area to head the ball dangerously, forcing goalkeeper Thanh Diep to fly as far as possible to save Thanh Hoa.

Coach Popov kept yelling at his students. Photo: Xuan Thuy

In the following minutes, Song Lam Nghe An showed that they were more dominant than their opponents when they deployed their passes down the flanks with quite high accuracy. This made coach Popov restless. He continuously yelled at his students to play more calmly and carefully in each phase of the ball. However, the away team's midfield with the mobility and strength of Xuan Manh, Trong Hoang or Nam Hai created many difficulties for Thanh Hoa.

It was not until the 33rd minute that Thanh Hoa had their first shot, from Bruno’s free kick towards SLNA’s goal. In the previous minutes, the Brazilian striker had almost “disappeared” in front of the defense led by center-back Ngoc Hai.

Notably, in the final minutes of the first half, Gustavo put the ball into Van Tien's net, but the referee judged that this central defender was in an offside position.

Entering the second half, the playing style of both teams did not improve much. The attacking lines were torn apart by fouls from both sides. Unable to create an initiative against the away team, coach Popov decided to make adjustments to Thanh Hoa's attack. Midfielder Ti Phong and foreign striker Paulo were sent onto the field. The presence of this attacking duo helped Thanh Hoa's playing style improve somewhat. Thanh Hoa's impressive situation in the second half came from a flank attack. Thai Binh crossed into the penalty area for Paulo to head the ball just wide of the goal.

In the final minutes of the match, Thanh Hoa put all their efforts into winning 3 points at home. However, Que Ngoc Hai and his teammates played calmly to neutralize Thanh Hoa's attacks. The two teams ended up with a 0-0 draw.

On February 12, Song Lam Nghe An will return to Vinh Stadium to meet Hai Phong in round 3 of V.League 2023.