What did Song Lam Nghe An head coach say after the loss to Ho Chi Minh City Police?
Leading 2-0 after just over 20 minutes, Song Lam Nghe An still let Ho Chi Minh City Police come back to win 3-2 right at Vinh Stadium in round 5 of V.League 2025/26. After the match, Coach Phan Nhu Thuat expressed regret and said that the main reason was the wasted opportunities, mistakes in defense and unstable mentality of his students.
SLNAfight lost profit position above yard home
At Vinh Stadium, round 5 of V.League 2025/26 could not have started more favorably for Song Lam Nghe An. After only 20 minutes, the home team led 2-0 thanks to goals from Ngo Van Luong and Michel Olaha. However, that excitement was quickly extinguished when Ho Chi Minh City Police rose up strongly and scored three goals in a row, ending the match with a 3-2 comeback victory.
The bitter defeat caused SLNA to fall to 11th place in the rankings, with only 4 points after 5 rounds. The Nghe An team is currently only 2 points ahead of the team in the play-off position, while having played one more match. If they do not improve their performance soon, SLNA will easily be caught up in the fierce relegation race this season.
Player bmissed many opportunities
Speaking after the match, coach Phan Nhu Thuat expressed his regret: “This was a good match for both teams. We started well, had an early advantage by scoring two goals. However, the players missed many opportunities that could have ended the match. When we failed to take advantage, we let our opponents come back. If we had scored more goals when we were excited, the result might have been different.”
According to Mr. Thuat, the defeat came from two main reasons: The offense wasted too many opportunities and the defense lost its solidity after the score was reduced. He analyzed: “In the first 25 minutes, the players played very well. But after the goal, they became nervous, lost control of the ball and allowed the Ho Chi Minh City Police to coordinate more smoothly. At the end of the match, the psychological pressure caused the concentration to break down, leading to the unfortunate losses.”
Despite being disappointed with the result, coach Phan Nhu Thuat still had words of encouragement for his players: "Center defender Le Nguyen Hoang completed his task well today. But the whole team needs to learn from experience to maintain the tempo and alertness throughout the 90 minutes."
This defeat exposed SLNA’s major problems. Lack of sharp finishing, fragile defense and immature play were the weaknesses that the Vinh home team revealed. In the next round, SLNA will travel to Pleiku to meet HAGL. If they continue to have no points, coach Phan Nhu Thuat’s team will surely slide into the relegation spiral.
