SLNA-HAGL: Trailing behind the Mirinae storm.

(Baonghean.vn) - With almost their entire defense missing, Mạnh Hùng receiving three yellow cards, and Đình Hoàng and Minh Đức injured, SLNA's lineup looks like it's been hit by Typhoon Mirinae. However, insiders believe SLNA will secure three points..

A story from the past

Recalling last year, HAGL, in a period of rapid decline, unexpectedly won 3-1 against SLNA in Round 22 of the 2015 V-League. However, the head of the refereeing committee, Nguyen Van Mui, personally attended the match and affirmed that there was "no foul play." Most notably, this victory came right after Hoang Anh Gia Lai decided to dismiss Guillaume Graechen as head coach, with goalkeeper coach Nguyen Quoc Tuan being appointed as his replacement. A 0-1 defeat away to Dong Thap in Round 21 of the 2015 V-League left HAGL rooted at the bottom of the table with only 14 points, facing an increasingly imminent relegation threat, forcing them to sack their coach.

Last season, many people speculated that some teams had "colluded" to save HAGL - Photo: Duc Dung

At that time, Mr. Tran Binh Su, who was in charge of Dong Nai team, made a sarcastic play on words when he said: "People talk a lot about changing coaches to change fortunes, but I don't think so. HAGL replaced HAGL Graechen with Mr. Tuan (the new coach Nguyen Quoc Tuan), who is Vietnamese, so he certainly has better 'connections' than the French coach."

Mr. Su himself pointed out the unusual aspects of the match between HAGL and SLNA: "If you carefully observed the HAGL vs SLNA match, the celebration after HAGL scored the opening goal was very subdued, even lacking any shared joy on the field. Everyone knows HAGL is very passionate, so they would react very strongly to a penalty, especially at a time when the match was tied (1-1). But surprisingly, the SLNA players did not react to the referee at all and accepted the penalty easily."

Dong Nai, isolated and outmatched, lost to their rivals HAGL in a home game and were bitterly eliminated from the V-League at the end of the season. In that match, Dong Nai's striker Hai Anh had an unlucky day when his penalty kick hit the crossbar in the 56th minute. Immediately afterwards, they were punished by Tran Vu with a free kick from 25 meters, giving HAGL the victory.

In Vietnamese football, anything can happen, and there's no place for teams that are labeled as "lonely stars."

Today's story

While the 14th position is already considered the fate of the "unlucky team" Dong Thap, there's still the play-off spot against a First Division team that no one wants. Ironically, SLNA, a team with a strong reputation, is hovering near this area. In the "three kingdoms" of SLNA, HAGL, and Long An vying to escape the 13th position, Long An is seen as "lonely," labeled as "fragile and vulnerable." Perhaps that's why people believe SLNA and HAGL wouldn't dare to fight each other to the death, only for Long An to reap the benefits.

If that's the case, then with both SLNA and HAGL "gritting their teeth" to play against Chairman Thang's team, it's clear that Coach Ngo Quang Sang's team will face many difficulties. However, the schedule allows Long An to have two home matches against SLNA and HAGL in rounds 19 and 21 to decide their own fate.

This season, both SLNA and HAGL are still facing difficulties in terms of squad strength and points on the league table - Photo: Duc Dung

It's quite strange that even though the home team SLNA will be missing almost all of their key defenders, Mạnh Hùng, Minh Đức, and Đình Hoàng, nobody thinks they will lose. Simply put, HAGL, with their "blunt attack and weak defense," managed to win against Đồng Tháp after scoring two goals against Phố Núi, and SLNA couldn't do that, so going to the play-offs wouldn't be unfair.

From a tactical standpoint, the SLNA coaching staff will consider options such as disrupting the attacking trio of Brazilian striker Junior Paraiba with Van Toan and Van Thanh, or proactively pressing in the opponent's half to neutralize the threat posed by Japanese playmaker Ideguchi, ensuring they don't lose. One weapon that SLNA's newly assembled defense needs to watch out for is Dong Trieu's free kicks and Junior Paraiba's long-range shots.

Unlike last season when tickets sold out, this year, the match between SLNA and HAGL is likely to have fewer spectators in attendance - Photo: Duc Dung

HAGL's defense was once bombarded 4-1 by S. Khánh Hòa, even though the team from Pleiku had scored first. In that match, Uche, with the ball, charged straight into the middle of HAGL's central defensive duo, Đông Triều and Văn Thắng. S. Khánh Hòa's midfielders deliberately played fast to disrupt the home team's defense. This is something that SLNA's young players Xuân Thắng and Tuấn Tài would do better than Văn Vinh.

In every respect, HAGL is unlikely to get any points when leaving Vinh. The question is how the SLNA coaching staff and players will approach the match before heading to Long An to host FLC Thanh Hoa afterwards.

N@T