Comments on Hong Linh Ha Tinh - Song Lam Nghe An: Home team's advantage?

In the opening match against Viettel, Coach Phan Nhu Thuat proved that Song Lam Nghe An's orientation of using young players was completely correct when the players, only 18 and 20 years old, played confidently against Viettel's star players, thereby getting the first points of the season.

However, that was the match where Song Lam Nghe An only played with 2 foreign players, a central defender and only striker Michael Olaha in attack. In fact, the Nghe An team played well, deployed the ball coherently, systematically and modernly, but the finishing was still a big problem. In particular, Michael Olaha is not a real striker and was only assigned the task of finishing in front of the goal. Having to distribute his strength to other tasks prevented the Nigerian striker from having the best finishing moves.

Playing away against Hong Linh Ha Tinh Club, Song Lam Nghe An continues to face another problem when key players like Trong Hoang have not fully recovered from injury. Not only that, players like Dinh Xuan Tien and Ngo Van Luong are also uncertain about their ability to play due to health problems. Playing with only 2 foreign players will certainly be a disadvantage. Therefore, not only having to solve the problem of force, Coach Phan Nhu Thuat also has to find solutions to overcome and improve the effectiveness of Song Lam Nghe An's attacks.

Meanwhile, Ha Tinh not only has the full trio of foreign players Bruno Ramires, M. Gopey, A. Dialló, but coach Nguyen Thanh Cong and his team also have home field advantage and the support of a large number of Ha Tinh fans. In the 2023/24 season, like Song Lam Nghe An, Ha Tinh witnessed the departure of many key players such as the central defender pair Janclesio and Duy Nam, but in the opening match, Ha Tinh had a good match against the host Thanh Hoa.

On the home team side, in addition to the 3 foreign players who all play in the attack, Ha Tinh owns players with relatively high potential for breakthroughs such as Dinh Tien, Phi Son or especially the striker who is in good form Quang Nam. The young central defenders of Song Lam Nghe An and foreign player Mario Zebic will have to be very wary of these names.

In terms of force balance, Hong Linh Ha Tinh is slightly better than Song Lam Nghe An. On the coaching bench, there is also a fateful confrontation between the old Song Lam Nghe An players. The coaching staff of Hong Linh Ha Tinh with Coach Nguyen Thanh Cong, Coach Nguyen Duc Thang and Coach Le Quoc Vuong will have a tense battle of wits with experienced and young coaches from Song Lam Nghe An such as Coach Phan Nhu Thuat, Dinh Van Dung and Pham Van Quyen.

And one of the highlights that will make this match interesting is the appearance of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology. Both Hong Linh Ha Tinh and Song Lam Nghe An know each other very well and it is certain that the team that takes advantage of opportunities better, is luckier and defends more disciplined will win. There is no room for carelessness and leniency in the Nghe Tinh Derby.

After round 2 of V.League 2023/24, Song Lam Nghe An will add a striker on loan from Hanoi Police Club. So while waiting for the third foreign player to appear, Song Lam Nghe An fans are waiting for coach Phan Nhu Thuat to once again demonstrate his unique and professional tactical arrangement in this away match.

The match between Hong Linh Ha Tinh and Song Lam Nghe An will take place at 18:00 on October 28 at Ha Tinh Stadium.

EXPECTED LINEUP:

Hong Linh Ha Tinh: Tung Lam (goalkeeper), Xuan Hung, Viet Trieu, Van Hanh, Van Duc, Phi Son, Bruno Ramiras, Quang Nam, Trung Hoc, Micheal Gopey, Dinh Tien.

Song Lam Nghe An: Van Viet (goalkeeper), Dinh Hoang, Mario Zebic, Van Thanh, Khac Luong, Van Huy, Manh Quynh, Van Bach, Nam Hai, Xuan Tien, Michael Olaha.