Bad signal after Song Lam Nghe An's loss to Quang Nam

Que Ngoc Hai was no longer himself when he returned to play for Song Lam Nghe An. Photo: Chung Le

Song Lam Nghe An still cannot mature

WithLam River Nghe AnAt this time, any victory or title is truly meaningful. V.League is a very harsh tournament and with its current strength, the Vinh team will hardly be able to get into the medal group. Therefore, when not capable enough to succeed in the highest football tournament in Vietnam, the glory in the National Cup also brings a little joy to Nghe An fans.

However, the loss to Quang Nam in the National Cup qualifying round has sunk all hopes of achieving results this season for Song Lam Nghe An.

A rather special thing is that in the National Cup, in 4 consecutive seasons from 2020 to now, Song Lam Nghe An has had to stop before teams playing in lower leagues. Specifically, in 2020, Song Lam Nghe An had to stop at the round of 16 against Ba Ria Vung Tau. The Nghe team drew 1-1 in the two regular rounds and lost 4-5 on penalties. In 2021, they lost right in the preliminary round against Pho Hien.

Entering 2022, Song Lam Nghe An was full of enthusiasm when receiving more energy from the new sponsor Tan Long. The Vinh Stadium team at that time owned many bright faces such as Que Ngoc Hai, Van Duc, Xuan Manh, Dinh Xuan Tien... However, with a subjective and careless playing style, they lost 1-2 to Binh Phuoc right in the preliminary round.

And this year, that is still repeated, Song Lam Nghe An cannot find the key to open the door named Quang Nam. Even though before that, coach Huy Hoang was very optimistic when he said that Song Lam Nghe An had more than 1 month of preparation and would show a new face, with a more effective playing style. Besides, the Nghe coach also considered the National Cup as the salvation of Song Lam Nghe An this season, when he wished.

“I want the Song Lam Nghe An players to play their best in the National Cup, for the flag and for the fans. I ask the players to learn from the first four matches to do better in the upcoming matches. The V.League has only gone through four rounds and there are still many matches ahead to strive for. However, in the National Cup, we have to play in a knockout match, so we have to play calmly and fight our best to get good results. At home, our goal is to win against Quang Nam.” - Coach Huy Hoang said before the match against Quang Nam.

However, Song Lam Nghe An could not find a solution to win against a team that was considered to be of lower level. Coach Huy Hoang's students even played at home, which would be the motivation for them to fight for honor, for the flag. It must be affirmed that in football, not always wanting to win is winning, but after the failure in the previous season, Song Lam Nghe An could have learned a profound lesson and entered this match with a new face, a more convincing way of playing. However, the audience did not see this, Song Lam Nghe An still could not mature after the stumble in the previous season.

Disjointed, weak gameplay

Realizing that Quang Nam is a strong team, possessing many potential players such as Dinh Bac, Dong Trieu, Van Hung, Ngan Van Dai... therefore, coach Huy Hoang was very cautious and highly appreciated the strength of this opponent. Learning from the loss to Binh Phuoc in 2022, coach Huy Hoang asked his students to enter the game slowly, not to rush into an attack and then pay the price. In the first minutes of the match, the audience could not distinguish which team was in the upper hand, playing at home, because the match was considered quite equal. And the players of both sides mainly performed safe coordination moves.

However, Song Lam Nghe An still had a dream start with the excellence of Trong Hoang and Van Cuong. The duo of two different generations found a common voice in a rare attacking situation of the home team. Ho Van Cuong received the ball on the right wing, the U20 player penetrated down the wing, then crossed for Trong Hoang to run in at the right rhythm and finish successfully, opening the score for Song Lam Nghe An.

Veteran Trong Hoang alone cannot carry the weak team. Photo: Chung Le

That was also the only bright spot that Song Lam Nghe An created in this match. During the following time, the Nghe An team showed a disjointed style of play, lacking cohesion, unable to launch any really sharp attacks. Many wrong passes came from coach Huy Hoang's students. Meanwhile, Quang Nam players played with composure, not afraid of their opponents and made many attacks on Van Hoang's goal.

According to statistics, in the first 45 minutes of the match, the away team had more shots on target than Song Lam Nghe An. It was inevitable that Song Lam Nghe An would equalize. Quang Nam's goal was scored after a beautiful "bicycle kick" from Le Van Hung.

During the following period, Song Lam Nghe An continued to play deadlocked and did not make much difference against the well-organized and scientific Quang Nam team. Many spectators present at Vinh Stadium to watch their team play were fed up. They were disappointed when they had to witness the soulless play of Song Lam Nghe An. And the defeat in the penalty shootout did not make many Nghe fans feel regretful, because many people thought that if Song Lam Nghe An continued to play like that, even if they beat Quang Nam, they would not have a chance to go deep in this year's tournament.

V.League will continue to return to the usual routine. Now, Song Lam Nghe An needs to quickly forget this defeat and try harder in training sessions, if they do not want to be in danger again in this year's National Football Championship.

Phong Nguyen