Song Lam Nghe An is facing a historic opportunity.

Since 2011 when SLNA won the V.League Championship, the Nghe An team has not won a single medal. Specifically, in the 2012 V.League under the leadership of coach Nguyen Huu Thang, SLNA finished in 4th place with 41 points.

In 2013, with a squad of many talented players, Coach Huu Thang and his team had the ability to compete for the championship, but XT Saigon withdrew from the tournament, causing SLNA to drop to 4th place overall with 33 points. In V.League 2014, when Le Cong Vinh was still playing, SLNA still only finished in 5th place with 36 points.

SLNA's final ranking in the past 10 years. Graphics: Trung Kien

The 2015 season saw changes in the coaching bench when coach Huu Thang left SLNA and was replaced by his successor Ngo Quang Truong. Despite their best efforts, SLNA only finished 7th in the 2015 V.League standings. In 2016, the Nghe An team disappointed with a 9th place overall. The worst result in the past 10 years.

In 2017, Coach Nguyen Duc Thang led SLNA for the first time and won the National Cup Championship with SLNA. In addition, the Nghe An team ranked 8th with 33 points. However, in 2018, SLNA improved its ranking dramatically in the second leg when it ranked 4th overall (42 points), and won the National Cup Bronze Medal.

Currently on the V.League 2019 rankings after round 24, SLNA has 33 points with 8 wins, 9 draws and 7 losses, ranking 4th but with a better goal difference than the team behind, SHB Da Nang. The team above SLNA is Than Quang Ninh with 35 points.

Coach Nguyen Duc Thang and his students are facing the opportunity to win medals at V.League 2019 after many years of poor performance by SLNA. Photo: Trung Kien

In round 25, SLNA will welcome this opponent. If they win, SLNA will take the position from their opponent. In the first leg, SLNA had a regrettable 0-0 draw away from home. Therefore, when returning home, SLNA still has a chance to win 3 points, especially in the context of Pham Xuan Manh's return.

In the final round of V.League 2019, SLNA visited Quang Nam. This was the opponent that coach Nguyen Duc Thang and his team defeated with a score of 2-0 thanks to goals from Michael Olaha and Phan Van Duc.

Regarding the squad, SLNA will definitely not have the service of striker Ho Tuan Tai due to injury. This season, striker Ho Tuan Tai has scored 8 goals after 15 matches and has become one of the best domestic strikers of V.League 2019. In the last 2 matches, Tuan Tai scored 3 goals against Khanh Hoa and Ho Chi Minh City.

SLNA is facing the opportunity to take 3rd place from Than Quang Ninh in round 25. Photo: Trung Kien

On the side of Than Quang Ninh, coach Phan Thanh Hung's team will be without Duong Van Khoa because he has received 3 yellow cards. Meanwhile, Mac Hong Quan suffered a groin injury while training with the national team and will be out for 3-4 weeks. In V.League 2019, Mac Hong Quan scored 8 goals for the home team after 22 appearances.

In addition, goalkeeper Nguyen Manh suffered an elbow injury upon returning from the national team and his ability to play is still uncertain. Most likely, goalkeeper Tran Van Tien will replace the captain in goal when facing Than Quang Ninh. In return, defender Tran Dinh Dong has also fully recovered to play in this match.

Currently, SLNA's defense is still the most solid in V.League 2019 with 24 goals conceded. While the number of goals is 30. Surely the Nghe team will have a very high determination in this match.

The match between SLNA and Than Quang Ninh will take place at 5:00 p.m. on October 19 at Vinh Stadium./.

Vinh Stadium is green before the match between SLNA and Than Quang Ninh

(Baonghean.vn) - In the past few days, Nghe An has been experiencing heavy rain. During the V.League break to make way for the National Team, the grass at Vinh Stadium has been completely replaced before the match between Song Lam Nghe An and Than Quang Ninh in round 25.

Trung Kien