Vo Ngoc Toan's injury puts SLNA in a difficult position?

(Baonghean.vn) - SLNA won convincingly against HAGL in round 10 of V. League. However, the joy of the Nghe An team was not complete when midfielder Vo Ngoc Toan suffered a serious injury and had to rest for at least 1 month.

In the personnel registration list for the first leg of V. League, SLNA has a total of 3 midfielders playing in the "anchor" position: Vo Ngoc Toan, Nguyen Van Vinh, Ho Sy Sam. That number is reasonable, because center back Que Ngoc Hai can still take on the task when needed.

However, after 10 rounds, the blocking position in front of the central defender duo is clearly showing extremely difficult problems, greatly affecting the performance of the Nghe An team.

According to statistics, the “anchor” position is the most unstable position of SLNA during the past time. Que Ngoc Hai, Nguyen Van Vinh, Vo Ngoc Toan, Ho Sy Sam have been used by the coaching staff in different matches and at different times.

Each player has his own strengths, and each player also has his own weaknesses. The first player to hold this position was Que Ngoc Hai in the match between SLNA and host FLC Thanh Hoa in the opening round of V. League 2017.

Vo Ngoc Toan suffered a serious injury in the match against HAGL. Photo: Trung Kien

Because it was not his forte, central defender Que Ngoc Hai could not show anything against the cunning of the duo Hoang Van Binh - Nguyen Trong Hoang on the Thanh team's side. Finally, SLNA's coaching staff decided to send Vo Ngoc Toan onto the field and return Que Ngoc Hai to the central defender position in the middle of the second half when the score was 2 - 0 in favor of coach Petrovic and his team.

The appearance of Vo Ngoc Toan helped SLNA's midfield play much better, the midfielder born in 1994 almost scored a goal with a header in the 75th minute.

Witnessing the impressive performance for more than 20 minutes against FLC Thanh Hoa, SLNA's coaching board gave Vo Ngoc Toan the "anchor" position in the matches against XSKT Can Tho, S. Khanh Hoa, Long An. Indeed, the player from Quynh Luu played quite well, combining with Ho Khac Ngoc and Olaha to help SLNA's midfield become stronger and more solid.

Unfortunately, when his form was stable, Vo Ngoc Toan suffered an ankle injury. In the matches after the Lunar New Year of SLNA against Quang Nam and Than Quang Ninh, the midfielder wearing the number 9 shirt could not participate.

Having just returned from injury, Vo Ngoc Toan was immediately used by SLNA's coaching staff in all 3 matches against B. Binh Duong (23 minutes), Saigon FC (57 minutes) and HAGL (11 minutes). In 2/3 of those matches, the player born in 1994 came off the bench to replace his senior Nguyen Van Vinh.

Misfortune continued to haunt Vo Ngoc Toan, in a ball dispute in the 82nd minute with a HAGL player, the SLNA midfielder suffered a sprained left knee ligament. With this injury, Vo Ngoc Toan Ngoc Toan will have to wear a splint, abstain for 2 weeks, and need at least 1 month of recovery training before he can return to normal training.

Thus, the burden will fall on veteran Nguyen Van Vinh. Objectively speaking, in recent matches, the midfielder wearing the number 7 shirt has played quite well, especially in the two matches against SHB Da Nang and HAGL.

Thanks to the brilliant performance of the 33-year-old veteran, SLNA's coaching staff has been less painful with the lowest position in the midfield of the Nghe An team. There is no need to argue about Van Vinh's professional ability and experience, the key issue here is that this veteran does not have enough physical strength to plow through the entire 90 minutes.

Without Vo Ngoc Toan, the SLNA coaching board only has Ho Sy Sam, a player with a talent for playing in the "anchor" position. However, having to often be friends with the bench and every time he gets to play, he can only occasionally play in the midfield because he has to "substitute" for the right-back role. It is difficult for Ho Sy Sam to gain the trust of the coaching board, and even if he is trusted, it is difficult to complete the assigned tasks.

The burden will fall on veteran Nguyen Van Vinh. Photo: Trung Kien

That is in case Nguyen Van Vinh can still play from the start, but if the midfielder born in 1984 gets injured or has a card, things will be worse. At that time, handing over to Ho Sy Sam is also precarious, pulling Que Ngoc Hai up is also not good.

The solution of Que Ngoc Hai playing in the "anchor" position will cause the defense to be disrupted. Observing the recent matches, it is clear that the intention of SLNA's coaching board is to stably use the central defender pair Que Ngoc Hai - Hoang Van Khanh.

In the near future, SLNA still has 3 matches with Hai Phong, Ho Chi Minh City Club, and Hanoi Club, which have just finished the first leg. Unfortunately for coach Nguyen Duc Thang and his team, both of their upcoming opponents have quite strong central midfield pairs.

To summarize, Hai Phong has Minh Chau - Quoc Trung, Ho Chi Minh City Club has Victor - Duy Nam, Hanoi Club has Moses - Duy Manh. If SLNA only relies on veteran Nguyen Van Vinh or reserve specialist Ho Sy Sam, or Que Ngoc Hai, then I'm afraid "less good than bad".

That said, Vo Ngoc Toan’s injury at this time has a significant impact on SLNA’s strength. It’s a red alert for the “anchor” position./.

Thanh Hung