Da Nang - SLNA: Coming to Hoa Xuan is to win

With the return of key players Van Khanh, Ba Sang... after suspension, in addition to the stable performance of Van Duc, SLNA fans are very excited when Xuan Manh returns strongly and effectively after a break due to Covid-19.

From the opening goal in the first leg friendly match against Hong Linh Ha Tinh (HLHT) to Xuan Manh's brilliant performance in the match against TQN, SLNA has become more diverse in both attack and defense. He has directly threatened the opponent on the right wing, while also contributing to creating balance in attack when Van Duc's left wing was tightly surrounded and blocked as usual.

Coach Ngo Quang Truong and his team are full of confidence to face the home team Hoa Xuan. Photo: Duc Anh

WhenXuan Manh goes up the attack and back to defenseWith rhythm on the right wing and sharp passes, SLNA had the opportunity to exploit the scoring ability of the foreign players Bruno and Peter. Bruno's goal brought 3 points in the match against TQN, so it not only relieved the thirst for goals of the foreign players but also created excitement and confidence for the whole team in the upcoming difficult journey, including the confrontation with the fateful opponent Da Nang, the team that won all 3 rounds but had to accept the first defeat after the match against T. Binh Dinh at Quy Nhon Stadium in round 4 (March 19).

Interestingly, in the upcoming match, both teams have “insiders” when SLNA’s center back Jelic played for Da Nang last season, while defender Dinh Hoang and midfielder Ngoc Toan originally moved from SLNA to play for Da Nang. But with Da Nang’s strong reinforcements, Jelic’s ability to “read” his old team to help SLNA overcome their opponents cannot be said to be much, and the former SLNA players in Da Nang will certainly also play professionally against their old teammates (now opponents) in the race for the title of the Da Nang team, which has just been invested very strongly towards fair competition with the forces of V. League such as Hanoi, Viettel, Ho Chi Minh City…

Phan Van Duc and his teammates just had a good match. Photo: Duc Anh

The unexpected loss to the newly promoted team T. Binh Dinh will make Huynh Duc and his team more determined in the confrontation with SLNA. Notably, in the 3 wins of Da Nang both at home and away, all were with a close score of 1-0, the players who scored respectively were Duc Chinh (against TP. HCM), Rafaelson (against TQN, away) and Kebe (against HLHT). There were 2 goals originating from central attacks with assists from Van Long and Anh Tuan, the remaining goal originating from a set piece situation with the opportunity taken advantage of the chaos in the opponent's penalty area.

Through that, we can see that Huynh Duc's team is quite stable in defense, flexible in the midfield and the ability to sweep the foreign players, especially Rafaelson. In the recent match against T. Binh Dinh, Anh Tuan played below his ability and Huy Hung came in as a substitute but did not help the away team's long-range defense and attack organization to improve. This could be an opportunity for SLNA to block the midfield when Sy Sam and Dinh Chau played quite well in the match against TQN, greatly limiting the risk to the home team's defense. It is also impossible not to mention that despite winning by a narrow margin of 1-0, the home team at Hoa Xuan Stadium was also sweating against the away team HLHT who played closely and fiercely.

All the “data” mentioned above is of course for reference only and what can be assured is that when coming to Da Nang to compete, SLNA’s teachers and students have always confidently “burned” themselves out in every move and always achieved positive results. Not to mention the “tradition” of the poor SLNA team is that when facing a noisy rich team, they play like they are possessed, as if that is the only thing that can be done!

Hopefully the match at Hoa Xuan Stadium this spring will be a match... without a draw, without repeating the failure of the second team from Nghe An, after the resilient HLHT, will it be the rise of SLNA?

Chau Phu