The aftermath of the Nghe Tinh Derby: The visitors dominated the home team.

"Losing" right from the start.

The way the Nghe An team started the match showed they were at a disadvantage compared to their neighbors, even though they were playing at home. The Song Lam Nghe An players appeared sluggish and frequently lost in one-on-one challenges.

Right from the opening minutes, if the visiting team's striker had been more decisive, the home team could have conceded a goal. It seemed like a wake-up call for the Nghe An team, but they continued to play listlessly and conceded goals repeatedly.Hong Linh, Ha TinhThere were dangerous attacking opportunities. After narrowly avoiding conceding a goal in the 43rd minute, the inevitable happened: Hong Linh Ha Tinh scored the opening goal in the 45+5 minute thanks to midfielder Nguyen Trung Hoc. Once again, the defense of the Nghe An team lacked concentration in the final moments of the half, allowing Song Lam Nghe An to concede a goal.

The Hong Linh Ha Tinh players had a great game against Song Lam Nghe An. Photo: VPF

In the second half, despite being 1-0 down, the Nghe An team showed no improvement. Their play remained disjointed, lacking direction in attack and poor in defense. As a result, Hong Linh Ha Tinh scored their second goal in the 58th minute with a quick shot from striker Paulo Pinto. It could be said that this was Song Lam's worst 60 minutes of the 2023 V.League season.

Commendable individual efforts

After conceding the second goal, the fate of the match seemed sealed; however, Olaha's individual effort helped the Nghe An team salvage some hope of securing a point. The Nigerian striker unleashed a powerful long-range shot to reduce the deficit to 2-1 in the 60th minute.

This goal boosted the players' morale.Lam River, Nghe AnTheir defense was strengthened. However, they still couldn't create any meaningful attacking opportunities against the solid defense of Hong Linh Ha Tinh. Fortunately for the Nghe An team, striker Jordy Soladio's header after Xuan Manh's cross beat goalkeeper Duong Quang Tuan, leveling the score at 2-2 for the home team in Vinh.

Soladio's effort helped Song Lam Nghe An secure one point against Hong Linh Ha Tinh. Photo: Phi Hung

It can be said that coach Huy Hoang's team avoided a humiliating defeat at home thanks in large part to the striker duo Olaha and Soladio. Hopefully, this pair will continue to shine in the upcoming matches to help the Nghe An team improve their position in the standings.

Coach Nguyen Thanh Cong is having success.

The fact that Hong Linh Ha Tinh had a good game against the home team Song Lam Nghe An was largely thanks to...Coach Nguyen Thanh CongThe 46-year-old coach meticulously studied the playing style of the Nghe An team to devise appropriate tactics for the match at Vinh Stadium. This involved a proactive, solid defensive approach in their own half, while being ready to switch tactics to launch quick counter-attacks. With the mobility of their two foreign strikers, Hong Linh Ha Tinh continuously created dangerous opportunities threatening goalkeeper Nguyen Van Viet's goal. The result of this well-planned strategy was a two-goal lead for coach Nguyen Thanh Cong's team after nearly 60 minutes of play.

Coach Nguyen Thanh Cong continues to have a successful season in V.League 2023. Photo: Xuan Thuy

However, a lack of focus and fatigue from key players caused Hong Linh Ha Tinh to unfortunately drop the victory. Nevertheless, this 2-2 draw once again demonstrates coach Nguyen Thanh Cong's success this season. And under the guidance of the 46-year-old coach, Hong Linh Ha Tinh promises to bring many surprises to the V.League 2023.

Coach Huy Hoang's perplexing decision.

Just as Song Lam Nghe An was starting to play more consistently, coach Nguyen Huy Hoang unexpectedly made personnel changes in this match. First, he moved Tran Dinh Hoang to play left-sided center-back in place of Thai Ba Sang. This change somewhat weakened Song Lam Nghe An's defense and reduced the danger of their attacks down the flanks.

Furthermore, deploying Tran Dinh Tien in the three-man midfield caused the Nghe An team to lose their initiative against the visiting Hong Linh Ha Tinh team. With his forte being a winger, the number 15 of Song Lam Nghe An could not fill the void in the midfield left by Dinh Xuan Tien.

Young midfielder Dinh Xuan Tien came on as a substitute in the middle of the second half. (Photo: VPF)

After making some changes in the second half, the game of the Nghe An team improved somewhat, but unfortunately, the Song Lam Nghe An players could only manage to secure one point against visiting team Hong Linh Ha Tinh.

The 2-2 draw against Hong Linh Ha Tinh dashed their hopes of finishing in the top 8.Lam River, Nghe AnIt will become even more difficult. And the whole team will have to try much harder in the upcoming matches to achieve that goal.

Spring of Quy