Defeating Ho Chi Minh City, Song Lam Nghe An holds their heads high and bids farewell to V.League 2018
(Baonghean.vn) - Playing at home in the final match of V.League 2018, Song Lam Nghe An had a favorable start with a goal from Olaha. A close victory by coach Nguyen Duc Thang and his team was enough to show their gratitude to Nghe An fans after a difficult season.
In this match, SLNA had many changes in the starting lineup. Defender Dinh Hoang was the reserve for Sy Nam on the right wing and Ngoc Duc was on the left wing. Midfielder Sy Sam was in the starting lineup along with Khac Ngoc. Meanwhile, on the Ho Chi Minh City side, midfielder Tran Phi Son was not registered due to injury.
At the beginning of the match, SLNA entered the game confidently and created many dangerous opportunities. However, it was not until the 29th minute that the Nghe An team realized their goal. Phan Van Duc, in a break into the middle, made a delicate pass to put Olaha Michael in a favorable finishing position. The SLNA foreign player did not miss the opportunity, he shot with one touch, easily defeating goalkeeper Thanh Diep.
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| Midfielder Phan Van Duc made senior defender Au Van Hoan face many difficulties. Photo: Thanh Cuong |
In the rest of the first half, the game was relatively balanced but the HCM City attack could not penetrate the SLNA defense once. The Nghe An team even had many clear opportunities from Olaha and Jeremie.
In the second half, Ho Chi Minh City improved their attack by bringing in Vu Quang Nam, a former SLNA player, as well as adjusting their defense system. In the 51st minute, SLNA's defense was put on alert. Substitute Vu Quang Nam sprinted down the right wing and skillfully kicked the ball. Fortunately for SLNA, goalkeeper Vu Hai dived to block the shot before Huynh Kesley had another shot go wide.
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| Olaha Michael's lightning-fast goal. Photo: Thanh Cuong |
Coach Toshiya Miura's players played a match full of effort but wasted the clearest opportunities. In the 64th minute, defender Pham The Nhat clumsily let the ball touch his hand in the penalty area. On the penalty spot, striker Huynh Kesley unfortunately shot high into the sky. The score of 1-0 remained unchanged for SLNA.
In the final minutes of the match, Ho Chi Minh City continued to have the opportunity to equalize the score, but Quang Nam once again missed the opportunity when facing Vu Hai. When the match had just over 5 minutes left, Van Binh was sent on to replace Sy Sam. In the lead, SLNA deployed a defensive counter-attacking style of play. If luckier, SLNA could have widened the gap after striker Jeremie Lynch's shot went over the bar in the 90th minute.
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| Foreign player Jeremie Lynch in an attack. Photo: Thanh Cuong |
In the end, SLNA won with a score of 1-0. This result could not help coach Duc Thang and his team enter the Top 3 but SLNA still ranked 4th overall with 42 points. Phan Van Duc and his teammates scored a total of 38 goals and conceded 32 goals, won 12 matches, drew 6 matches and lost 8. The Nghe An team also received no red cards throughout the season. Meanwhile, in other notable matches, FLC Thanh Hoa defeated S. Khanh Hoa 1-0, XSKT Can Tho was held to a 1-1 draw by Nam Dinh.
Thus, at the end of V.League 2018, the champion team is Hanoi FC with 64 points, second place is FLC Thanh Hoa and third place is S. Khanh Hoa BVN. XSKT Can Tho was officially relegated and Nam Dinh played the play-off match.
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SLNA: TM Vu Hai, Sy Nam, Ngoc Hai, The Nhat, Ngoc Duc, Van Duc, Sy Sam, Khac Ngoc, Xuan Toan, Olaha Michael, Jeremie Lynch.
Ho Chi Minh City: TM Thanh Diep, Van Hoan, Van Robert, Van Thuan, Huu Tuan, Minh Trung, Hai Anh, Quang Huy, Cong Hien, Huynh Kesley.
Goalkeeper plays brilliantly, SLNA crushes SHB Da Nang at Vinh Stadium
(Baonghean.vn) - SLNA suffered a major loss in personnel when the U23 Vietnam duo Van Duc and Xuan Manh were injured. However, the Nghe An team still had a good match at Vinh Stadium against SHB Da Nang.
