Why is Song Lam Nghe An increasingly struggling to score goals?

Over the past 10 years, SLNA has experienced constant changes, and its performance has fluctuated accordingly. The number of goals scored by the Nghe An team each season accurately reflects their strength and final ranking.

Specifically, in the 2009 V.League season, when SLNA was coached by Nguyen Van Thinh, despite not having quality foreign players, thanks to their effective defensive counter-attacking style, the team from Vinh still finished in a spectacular 3rd place with 39 goals scored and 29 goals conceded.

This was the time when SLNA welcomed a generation of high-quality domestic players who had reached their peak, such as Huy Hoang, Dinh Dong, Au Hoan, Trong Hoang, Van Binh, and Dac Khanh. Notably, this was the season when SHB Da Nang won the championship, B. Binh Duong finished as runners-up, but SLNA suffered the fewest defeats (5 matches).

In the 2010 V.League season, SLNA had not yet invested heavily in its squad since coach Huu Thang returned. SLNA's foreign players included striker Vidovic, midfielder Zakovic, striker Miterovic, and striker Mauro, but only Vidovic was of quality. As a result, SLNA only scored 36 goals, conceded 26, and became the team with the most draws in the league (10 matches).

Kavin Bryan and Diego Fagan were a quality strike partnership for SLNA in the 2011 season. Photo: VPF

Everything changed when the Nghe An team received significant investment in the 2011 V.League season. Coach Huu Thang brought in three extremely high-quality foreign players: midfielder Edmund Ahsah - a Ghanaian international, Kavin Bryan - a Jamaican international, and Diego Fagan - Devons. Along with the existing domestic players, Coach Huu Thang's team became champions with 48 goals scored and 29 goals conceded, averaging 1.8 goals per match.

Entering the 2012 V.League season, SLNA parted ways with all three foreign players who had helped them win the championship the previous season and brought in other players such as Abass, Dickson, Bebe, and Hector Kerin. These were quite high-quality strikers who helped Coach Huu Thang's team score 45 goals (1.7 goals per match).

In the 2013 season, SLNA welcomed back Le Cong Vinh, the core of the domestic squad remained intact, and even added promising young talents such as Phi Son, Ngoc Hai, Khac Ngoc, and Manh Hung. SLNA's foreign players at the time – Hector Kerin, Kavin Bryan, and Willis Plaza – made Coach Huu Thang's team a championship contender.

At the end of that season, the Nghe An team lost their chance to win the championship because Saigon XT FC withdrew from the league, resulting in the cancellation of their two wins, a deduction of 6 points, and a drop to 4th place overall. Had it not been for that incident, SLNA's goal tally would have been 44 (an average of 1.7 goals per game) instead of 40 when the league table changed.

Statistics on SLNA's goals scored from V.League 2009 to the present. Graphic: TK

Entering the 2014 V.League season, SLNA faced some difficulties as the team began to part ways with a number of key players and failed to retain its best foreign players. Despite this, Coach Huu Thang's team still managed to score 38 goals, averaging 1.5 goals per match, and finished in 5th place overall.

After coach Huu Thang left, SLNA lost its previous position due to a lack of strong investment in recruiting foreign players, and domestic players also left one after another. As a result, the number of goals scored in V.League 2015 was only 36, while in V.League 2016 it dropped to 34 (an average of 1.3 goals per match) under coach Ngo Quang Truong.

In the 2017 V.League season, Coach Duc Thang took over, and Michael Olaha, at the age of 20, was the most outstanding foreign player. However, "one swallow does not make a summer," and the number of goals scored by the Nghe An team did not reach the previous level of over 40. SLNA's attack scored 36 goals, the same as two years earlier.

The 2018 season was a time when SLNA's attack performed quite effectively with the arrival of Olaha and Jeremie Lynch. Photo: Xuan Thuy

It wasn't until the 2018 season that the duo of Michael Olaha and Jeremie Lynch scored 12 goals, helping SLNA reach a total of 38 goals and finish 4th overall. This was considered a great success for Coach Duc Thang and his team. However, compared to the 2011-2013 period, this is still a modest number.

Things became even more difficult for SLNA in the 2019 V.League season when foreign strikers like Alves Santos (0 goals) and Vinicius (4 goals) performed ineffectively. Striker Michael Olaha continued to play aggressively but only managed to score 5 goals. In total, SLNA's attack only scored 32 goals (an average of 1.2 goals per game), drawing 11 matches. This record is a disappointing one for SLNA over the past 10 years.

It's clear that the consistent quality of the foreign players has largely determined the number of goals scored and the final ranking of the Nghe An team. In the V.League 2020, after two matches, SLNA has only scored one goal. Keeping a clean sheet is crucial, but if they don't improve their goal-scoring efficiency, a poor performance at the end of the season is inevitable.

Song Lam Nghe An: Nostalgia for 'former player' Michael Olaha and the question mark surrounding foreign players.

(Baonghean.vn) - Having parted ways with all three foreign players at the end of the 2019 V.League season and bringing in three new faces, SLNA's current foreign players have yet to show much promise. The statistics from their most recent matches speak for themselves.

Trung Kien