'Dead spot' in SLNA's defense

(Baonghean) - Only getting 1 point after 2 matches is something that no one in SLNA wants. In the shortcomings seen from the past 2 matches, it can be seen that the defense is the biggest concern, when in both matches, SLNA players made regrettable mistakes.

Concerns about foreign players were somewhat relieved when Henry scored in the recent match against XSKT.Can Tho. His partner Olaha also more or less got into the rhythm of the team. The attack line, with the effective support of Phi Son and The Cuong, made quite a mark.

However, when the offense played well, the defense made fatal mistakes. It seemed like the match at Thanh Hoa Stadium was just an accident, but the same thing kept happening, even at a more worrying level.

In the match last weekend, SLNA's coaching staff decided to change the central defender pair, with Van Khanh and Ngoc Hai starting instead of Manh Hung and Minh Duc like in the first match. Van Khanh had just recovered from an injury while Ngoc Hai had plenty of experience and everyone believed that this duo would do well in their assigned tasks.

However, everyone could not rest assured when in the first free kick of the match, the defense made a mistake and SLNA's net shook.

About 4,000 spectators came to Vinh Stadium to cheer for their team. Photo: Trung Kien

Fortunately, in that situation, the linesman caught the away team's mistake and the goal was disallowed. From that heart-stopping situation, many people had a premonition of a bad match for SLNA.

And, as expected, when the match went into extra time, Ngoc Hai made a mistake, when he controlled the ball "too much" and the ball flew straight into the net of goalkeeper Nguyen Manh. For the second time in two consecutive matches, SLNA conceded a goal from an "own goal".

Besides the difficulty in choosing the central defender pair, Duc Thang also has his own concerns about the personnel on the two wings. Dinh Hoang has not recovered from his injury, so Ngoc Duc is trusted. However, his physical limitations are a weakness, causing Ngoc Duc to be continuously exploited. Meanwhile, on the right wing, Duc Thang is still struggling with experiments, when last match Sy Sam started, and yesterday it was Sy Nam.

Foreign player Henry plays energetically and aggressively, he is the owner. of many opportunities in the first half. Photo: Trung Kien

The force is quite large but up to this point, Duc Thang still cannot complete the defense. Whether it is a very experienced Ngoc Hai or a young Ngoc Duc who is always full of energy, mistakes still exist.

Both Manh Hung and Ngoc Hai's own goals had disastrous consequences. FCL Thanh Hoa was just waiting for Manh Hung's mistake to immediately seal the match. The goal conceded by Ngoc Hai was even more disastrous, as the home team was robbed of victory in extra time.

SLNA (left) shared points at home in the second round of V.League 2017. Photo: Trung Kien

Strengthening the defense is not easy when the team only has that much personnel. Coach Duc Thang has to have a headache in arranging and reorganizing to have the most harmonious team. That is not a simple task, when in the next week, SLNA will have to play 2 matches. S. Khanh Hoa is the next opponent and looking back at history, everything seems not to support Duc Thang and his team.

In the 2 away matches against SLNA in the 2015 and 2016 seasons, S.Khanh Hoa were the ones who had complete joy with 3 points. When under pressure like the present time, it can be seen that the match will not be simple for Duc Thang and his team.

Not to mention in the 4th round - the last round before the Lunar New Year break, SLNA will have to face Long An, a team that is stable with a good start to the V.League. That is really a concern not only for the defense but also for the team as a whole, when SLNA still has many weaknesses and the story cannot be solved in a day or two.

Vinh Liem