Song Lam Nghe An closes 2023 season with victory over Hoang Anh Gia Lai

The encounter at Vinh Stadium in the final round of V.League 2023 betweenLam River Nghe Anand Hoang Anh Gia Lai is just a formality. Because with the current points of both teams, they are sure to stay in the league. However, before the match, coach Phan Nhu Thuat's students are still determined to dedicate a beautiful match to show gratitude to the home audience.

In this match, Song Lam Nghe An continued to play with only 1 foreign player Olaha, because previously, Soladio and Vytas had asked to terminate their contracts. Therefore, coach Phan Nhu Thuat continued to give opportunities to young players to play in order to gain more battle experience.

A series of young players such as Van Thanh, Khac Luong, Sy Hoang, Nam Hai, Manh Quynh, Xuan Tien, Ngo Van Luong were all on the field from the start. The goalkeeper guarding the goal of the Nghe An team is Van Tien. Because before that, goalkeeper Van Viet had joined the U23 Vietnam team.

On the other side of the front line, Hoang Anh Gia Lai still took the field with 3 foreign players including Paollo Oliveira, Washington, Pape Abdoulaye. In addition, key players such as Tuan Anh, Minh Vuong, Chau Ngoc Quang... were all present from the start.

With the determination to bring an exciting and exciting match, as soon as the opening whistle blew, both teams played quite openly. Hoang Anh Gia Lai had many players with good technical qualities, and had a slight advantage in controlling the ball. However, coach Phan Nhu Thuat's students were the team that had the first dangerous opportunity of the match.

In the 8th minute, from a corner kick on the left wing by Xuan Tien, the ball went past goalkeeper Trung Kien's goal, but Xuan Manh missed his header, missing the opportunity to open the scoring for Song Lam Nghe An.

In the 18th minute, from an attack on the right wing, Ho Khac Luong advanced and received a pass from his teammate, but with a rather narrow shooting angle, this central defender could not defeat goalkeeper Trung Kien.

During more than half of the first half, the trio Olaha, Xuan Tien and Trong Hoang created quite smooth passing combinations on the right wing. That caused a lot of difficulties for Hoang Anh Gia Lai's defense. However, the final moves of coach Phan Nhu Thuat's students did not reach the necessary accuracy to make a difference.

In the 30th minute, it seemed like the opening goal had come to Song Lam Nghe An, but Manh Quynh's skillful flick missed Hoang Anh Gia Lai's goalpost by a hair. Before that, midfielder Xuan Tien had shown excellent tactical vision, when he made a precise pass to put Manh Quynh in a one-on-one situation with goalkeeper Trung Kien.

In the final minutes of the first half, Song Lam Nghe An actively pressed their opponents, but center-back Pape Abdoulaye and his teammates fought hard to neutralize the attacks from the Nghe An strikers. Therefore, the first 45 minutes of the match ended without either team being able to find the opponent's net.

In the second half, it rained heavily at Vinh Stadium, which affected the play of both teams. To increase the pressure, coach Phan Nhu Thuat decided to send defender Vuong Van Huy onto the field to replace Mai Sy Hoang; Phan Xuan Dai replaced Ngo Van Luong. That change helped Song Lam Nghe An's left wing attack better.

In the 51st minute, Nam Hai entered the opponent's penalty area, but the center back's shot from a distance of more than 10 meters sent the ball too inaccurately.

After many missed opportunities, in the 60th minute, Song Lam Nghe An opened the score of the match. From a free kick on the right wing by Xuan Tien, Xuan Dai chose a suitable position to shoot a tricky shot that defeated goalkeeper Trung Kien. This was also the first goal of this striker born in 2003 for Song Lam Nghe An in the V.League arena.

After the goal, the Vinh home team continued to maintain pressure on Hoang Anh Gia Lai's field, but Olaha, Xuan Tien, and Phan Xuan Dai were all unlucky to double the gap.

In the final minutes of the match, Que Ngoc Hai was sent onto the field to reinforce Song Lam Nghe An's defense. On the offensive front, Song Lam Nghe An's varied combinations opened up many opportunities. However, the match still ended with a score of 1-0 in favor of the home team Vinh.

Thus, Song Lam Nghe An ended the 2023 season with 25 points and led group B of V.League 2023./.

Duc Anh