Song Lam Nghe An finds the joy of victory again

Entering the new season, both teams were considered championship candidates, but it is worth mentioning that in the last 6 consecutive rounds, both Hoang Anh Gia Lai and Song Lam Nghe An have not known victory once. Up to this round 19, the home team Pleiku has a history of 3 consecutive wins at home against the opponent from Vinh city, but before that, they lost to the bottom team Ho Chi Minh City with a score of 1-2, so things cannot be said to be more or less favorable.

Meanwhile, Song Lam Nghe An just got 1 point in the previous round, the squad has the return of central defender Que Ngoc Hai and before this round received the good news that boss Truong Sy Ba just won the title of "National Outstanding Entrepreneur 2022" so he will definitely enter the match "more energetic" than before.

Olaha celebrates the opening goal when SLNA visited HAGL in round 19 of V-League 2022. Photo: VnE

In the past, it was easy to see that Hoang Anh Gia Lai, despite being in good form, would have difficulty if they were surrounded and blocked in the middle, and one of the teams that was ready to destroy the opponent's playing style to win was Song Lam Nghe An. In this match, Song Lam Nghe An both organized tight man-to-man marking and launched effective interceptions, forcing the home team to attack the left flank, which was their forte. Song Lam's counter-attacks were quite diverse with the mobility of Olaha and Dinh Tien, a young player who was assigned to play as a striker for the first time and sometimes played as a midfielder behind Olaha.

But the situation where the away team opened the score was when Dinh Tien played in his strong right position, received the ball from the middle, handled it a few times and passed the center-back Huu Tuan, crossed the ball to create a great opportunity for Olaha to run down and score a goal against goalkeeper Tuan Linh. Once again, Hoang Anh Gia Lai was led by a exemplary counter-attack that fully embodied the traditional style of Song Lam Nghe An. Remember, in the first half, the home team used all of their foreign players (3 people), while the away team only had Olaha as a foreign player.

Coach Kiatisuk was right to take foreign player Bruno off the field at the beginning of the second half because of his ineffective play, missing many opportunities created by his teammates, and replaced him with midfielder Minh Vuong. This player immediately repaid his efforts with an equalizer from a corner kick, the ball was cleared and he was extremely quick to finish, hitting the post and ricocheting into Van Hoang's net. It also showed once again that Song Lam Nghe An still made mistakes in defending set pieces and second balls, whether Ngoc Hai was present or not. In this match, Van Hoang dominated the space well, clearing the ball decisively, but the defensive midfielders did not do their job well, making things more difficult when the home team had a psychological advantage after the equalizer.

It should be added that in the Song Lam Nghe An squad in this match, the trio of central defenders Ngoc Hai-Van Khanh-Kac Luong played tightly and in harmony. The wing duo Dinh Dong-Van Cuong played differently when the 19-year-old player's wing was allowed to move up more thanks to the youth and coordination of attacking midfielder Van Duc who played deep and kept the transition bridge. Midfielder Van Lam played flexibly with Xuan Manh in the center, so in general, the once-famous midfield of the home team continuously lost control of the game even though the away team almost proactively retreated deep afterwards.

By the end of the match, the “Achilles’ heel” of the mountain town team was exposed, meaning they were eager to attack but neglected their defense. A corner kick, the ball fell to the feet of “youngster” Oseni (who only entered the field for the last 15 minutes) with a quick and powerful kick that caused Brandao to score an own goal. A victory could not be sweeter for Huy Hoang and his students. They overcame their opponents in the same situation, overcame the “curse” of losing on Pleiku field for 3 consecutive seasons to get 3 valuable points. Another away win, after 2 away wins against Becamex Binh Duong and Nam Dinh.

Obviously, when confidence returns, when everything is at a dead end, with no way back, Song Lam Nghe An can prove its inherent mettle. Will and motivation are things that need to be emphasized, but it is impossible not to mention Huy Hoang's reasonable adjustments in playing style, in personnel arrangement, in using domestic and foreign players. Van Lam and Dinh Chau are the old players who have returned. Van Cuong is playing better and better. Olaha and Oseni are "sniffing" for goals faster than ever. Van Hoang is stable and confident... That means everything is returning to the necessary state as the tournament moves towards the final decisive rounds.

The tiring and suffocating stage has passed and now is the time for Song Lam Nghe An to find the right place, to be in the right position, even though everything is not easy...

Chau Phu