Coach Huy Hoang: 'The match at Vinh Stadium is true to the nature of the Nghe Tinh Derby'

Xuan Manh made an accurate assist to bring the equalizer for Song Lam Nghe An. Photo: Phi Hung

The match at Vinh Stadium in round 8 of V.League 2023 between Song Lam Nghe An and Hong Linh Ha Tinh is extremely important, deciding the race to enter the group of 8 teams after the end of phase 1 of the season. Therefore, the two teams entered the match with great determination.

Although Ha Tinh had to play away from home, they were encouraged by a large number of fans and performed quite convincingly. Coach Nguyen Thanh Cong's team took the initiative to control the match and created many scoring opportunities.

In the second half, this team doubled the gap. It was thought that Song Lam Nghe An would collapse and accept defeat right on the "holy land" of Vinh, but they rose up strongly and continuously created storms in front of goalkeeper Quang Tuan's goal.

Two goals later from Olaha and Soladio brought the match back to the starting line. In the final minutes of the match, Song Lam Nghe An was determined to push forward to seek victory. However, the final result still stopped at 2-2.

Looking back at the match, it can be affirmed that this was an attractive and dedicated match. In addition, despite the harsh weather, the pace of the match was always maintained at a fairly high level.

In addition, the two coaches also had a fierce battle of wits when constantly changing tactics. Therefore, 4 goals were scored, thereby bringing a match worth watching at Vinh Stadium.

Coach Huy Hoang shared after the match. Photo: Chung Le

After the match,Coach Huy Hoangshared: "As you can see, Hong Linh Ha Tinh is 1 point ahead of us. Honestly, we really want to beat them and vice versa, Ha Tinh also really wants to beat Song Lam Nghe An to consolidate their position on the rankings. In the match, each team controlled 1 half and there were 4 goals created by both teams. I think this is an exciting match and true to the nature of the Nghe Tinh Derby."

It can be said that in this match, the two teams brought many bright spots in their attacks. In particular, Coach Nguyen Thanh Cong exploited the strengths of the two foreign strikers very well. This team often organized smooth and potentially surprising coordination. This caused no small difficulty for the Song Lam Nghe An central defenders.

On the other hand, the Nghe An team's attack also came up with many diverse attacking options. Especially in the second half, the appearance of U22 Vietnam player Dinh Xuan Tien created many ideas in approaching Ha Tinh's goal.

Talking about the use of players in this match, the head coach of Song Lam Nghe An said: "Dinh Xuan Tien, after returning from SEA Games 32, was not 100% fit, so we decided to use him in the second half. When coming on from the bench, the U22 Vietnam player showed his ability to control the ball and organize the team's play."

Objectively speaking, this is a match worth watching for both teams. Because after a break of more than 1 month, when returning, Song Lam Nghe An and Hong Linh Ha Tinh quickly caught up with the rhythm of V.League. However, if you look closely, Song Lam Nghe An still has limitations in defense. The ability to stick and read situations of the central defenders is not good. In addition, the players still often make unnecessary mistakes. The clearest evidence is the second goal of the away team, when Vysta missed the header and sent the ball to Pinto's feet. The Hong Linh Ha Tinh striker appeared in the penalty area but no player of Song Lam Nghe An followed. Then this striker easily defeated Van Viet at a distance of more than 10m. In addition, the carelessness and sloppiness in the defense of the Vinh home team continued to appear in this match. That helped Hong Linh Ha Tinh's strikers often find space to penetrate Song Lam Nghe An's penalty area.

Talking about this, the coach of the Vinh team shared: "It must be said that in some moments of the match, our defense did not play well. We need to practice more for the defense. In this match, we were forced to put Dinh Hoang in to replace Ba Sang's center-back position. Because this player suffered a minor injury, we did not dare to risk using him. That is why the defense of Song Lam Nghe An was a bit shaky. Although goalkeeper Van Viet played very well, the main goalkeeper Van Hoang is the one with more experience in the game. Therefore, I hope that in the next match, this goalkeeper will recover from his injury in time to return to play."

In the upcoming rounds, Song Lam Nghe An will have to face very strong teams with great potential. Specifically, in rounds 9 and 10, Song Lam Nghe An will travel to Hang Day Stadium to face Cong An Ha Noi and Viettel. Then in round 12, the Vinh team will face Binh Dinh. The final round of phase 1 will be against the defending champion Ha Noi FC.

Looking at the match schedule, it can be seen that the upcoming journey to compete for the group of 8 teams of Song Lam Nghe An will be full of thorns and challenges. To reach the previously set goal, Huy Hoang and his team need to quickly overcome the limitations in defense. Because for all teams to be successful, the first thing that coaches need to do is to manage mistakes and limit goals conceded. In addition,Lam River Nghe Anneed to be determined to solve each match one by one. And consider each match as the final. If that can be solved, the Vinh home team has a complete opportunity to put their name in the group of 8 teams after completing phase 1 of V.League 2023.

Looking forward to the upcoming matches, coach Huy Hoang is determined: "In the next matches, we need to win as many points as possible. I think all opponents are the same and Song Lam Nghe An is not afraid of any opponent"./.