Waiting for Phan Van Duc and SLNA to overcome Thien Truong pass?

According to the schedule of round 7, the team currently ranked first in the table, Ho Chi Minh City FC, will return to their home stadium to welcome SHB Da Nang. Both teams won in the last round. After a hard-fought victory at Binh Duong Stadium, defending champion Hanoi will also return to Hang Day Stadium to welcome Saigon FC - the only unbeaten team to date. Meanwhile, SLNA will visit DNH Nam Dinh's Thien Truong Stadium.

This is the best opportunity for the Nghe An team because DNH Nam Dinh has suffered 4 consecutive losses. Coach Nguyen Van Dung and his team have only had 1 victory, got 3 points and are deep at the bottom of the V.League 2020 rankings. Meanwhile, SLNA has only lost 1 match, got 11 points and still has a chance to rise if they win all 3 points.

Last season, without Phan Van Duc, SLNA lost 0-2 at Thien Truong. Photo: TK

There is a common weakness between SLNA and Nam Dinh, which is the ability to take advantage of opportunities and score goals. After 6 matches, SLNA's attack has only scored 3 goals, less than its opponent who has 5 goals. However, SLNA's defense has only conceded 3 goals in the match against TP HCM, while DNH Nam Dinh has had to pick the ball out of the net 11 times.

Obviously, meeting Nam Dinh at this time is an opportunity for SLNA's strikers to improve their ability to take advantage of opportunities. During the past 6 matches, Peter Samuel, Tuan Tai, Alagie Sosseh have not scored. Of the 4 goals that SLNA scored, none came from a true striker, 2 from Phan Van Duc and the remaining 2 from Van Lam, center back Gustavo.

In terms of playing style, SLNA still shows weaknesses in the central midfield when SLNA's coaching staff can only revolve around 3 players Dinh Chau, Van Lam, Quang Tinh. And in the defensive counter-attacking style of play, the midfield plays a very important role. SLNA's central midfield pair is still inexperienced, the foreign players are not of good quality, so they have not yet achieved perfection in their playing style.

The heat at Thien Truong will test the mettle of SLNA's young players. Photo: Hai Thinh

Looking at it like that, we can see that SLNA cannot be complacent. After a difficult season, this season Nam Dinh Club cannot underestimate them as a weak opponent. They brought in 3 very high-quality foreign players: midfielder Valentin Zoungrana, striker Rafaelson Fernandes and naturalized striker Do Merlo from SHB Da Nang. In addition, there is also defender Thiago Santos. Strikers Rafaelson and Do Merlo have both scored 2 goals.

In terms of domestic quality, both teams are not highly rated. If Phan Van Duc is the brightest face, then on the Nam Dinh Club side, Le Sy Minh is a highly anticipated face, this player has also scored his own goal in the V.League. More specifically, when playing at Thien Truong Stadium, all opponents face pressure from the heat of the stands.

In the history of confrontation, the two teams met a total of 16 times. Nam Dinh Club won 5, drew 4 and lost 7 matches against SLNA. However, at home at Thien Truong Stadium, Thanh Nam team won 5, drew 2 and lost only 1 match in the 2018 season when the away team had all the best players.

Phan Van Duc and his teammates need to find their scoring touch again after losing to TP HCM. Photo: Duc Anh

In the 2019 season, due to the absence of Phan Van Duc and Pham Xuan Manh leaving the field early, the Nghe An team had to accept a 0-2 defeat right at Thien Truong. This time with Phan Van Duc, it is very likely that coach Ngo Quang Truong and his team will make a difference. Unfortunately, Van Khanh - Xuan Manh are the two SLNA players who cannot participate.

When Nam Dinh is cornered, SLNA's opponent will play a decisive match to save themselves. Meanwhile, the Nghe An team at this time is in dire need of a victory to regain confidence after the quick defeat against TP HCM, strengthening the trust of fans.

Photo: VPF

Commentator Quang Tung points out the bright spots and issues that Song Lam Nghe An needs to improve.

(Baonghean.vn) - Commenting on the Nghe An team after 5 matches in V.League 2020, especially the recent performance at Hang Day, commentator Ngo Quang Tung said that the secret to SLNA's initial success is that they dare to play fair football, not the "cut and slash" style like before.

Trung Kien