Song Lam Nghe An's concerns after the victory in Pho Nui

Weakness against high balls

The return of captain Que Ngoc Hai has somewhat helped coach Huy Hoang feel more secure about his defense. However, the weakness against high balls is still the most worrying point in the defense of the Nghe An team. With defenders only 1m80 tall or less, opponents will try to exploit this weakness of Song Lam Nghe An. In the match against Hoang Anh Gia Lai, the Mountain City team had no less than 5 dangerous high balls towards goalkeeper Van Hoang. Fortunately, with the protection of the defenders and especially the excellence of this goalkeeper from Tan Ky, the net of Song Lam Nghe An only shook once.

High balls are still the biggest concern for the Nghe An team's defense. Photo: VPF

In the upcoming matches, the coaching staff of the Nghe An team must have plans to further limit the danger of the opposing team from set pieces and high balls. Especially in the next round, Song Lam Nghe An will have to face Saigon Club, a team with very good aerial players such as Do Merlo, Nicholas Olsen, Matheus Vieira and Rodrigue Nanitelamino.

Dang Van Lam's fitness

In the first half, midfielder Dang Van Lam played with great effort to create a quality central midfield duo with Pham Xuan Manh, helping the Nghe An team dominate the home team Hoang Anh Gia Lai. However, in the second half, the midfielder wearing the number 37 shirt showed signs of running out of steam, which partly caused Song Lam Nghe An to be defeated by the home team.Pleiku Stadiumpressed the field and created many dangerous situations towards goalkeeper Van Hoang's goal. Midfielder Minh Vuong's goal was partly Dang Van Lam's fault, when this midfielder did not have time to retreat to fill the gap in front of the 16m50 box.

Midfielder Dang Van Lam's fitness is one of the concerns of the Nghe An team's coaching staff. Photo: VPF

Having been substituted in the 75th minute, the 23-year-old midfielder has yet to play a full 90 minutes. Hopefully, in the near future, Dang Van Lam will improve his physical condition to play full matches in the V.League for the Nghe An team.

Ability to attack on the left flank

With veteran Tran Dinh Dong positioned as left back, the Nghe An team's attacking ability on the left wing is not as good as on the opposite wing. This is understandable because at the age of 35, Dinh Dong cannot be as energetic in attack and defense as he was in his twenties and his top priority is to ensure the stability of the left wing of Song Lam Nghe An. Especially when this wing often features striker Nguyen Van Toan, who is still famous for having the best speed of the Vietnamese team. In addition, Phan Van Duc often moves inside to coordinate with his teammates, which is also the reason why there are few attacks on the left wing.

The right wing is the main attack direction of Song Lam Nghe An with the mobility of the duo Dinh Tien and Van Cuong. Photo: Chung Le

Fortunately, with the return of defender Mai Sy Hoang after recovering from injury, coach Huy Hoang will have more options on the left wing. This will helpNghe An football teamhave more diverse attack options.

The valuable victory over Hoang Anh Gia Lai will be a spiritual medicine to help Nghe An players feel more confident in the upcoming matches. However, the coaching staff of Song Lam Nghe An also needs to quickly come up with plans to overcome the team's weaknesses, thereby achieving the best results in the remaining stages of V.League 2022.