Song Lam Nghe An won 1 point against host Nam Dinh
Against the home team Nam Dinh, who is currently at the top of the rankings, Song Lam Nghe An played resiliently and earned 1 point. The match of round 22 of V.League 2023/24 took place at Thien Truong Stadium.
After two consecutive defeats, Nam Dinh has somewhat regained its strength thanks to a devastating victory over Thanh Hoa. Returning to their home field, they are expected to conquer Song Lam Nghe An, who are at their peak.
To extend the unbeaten streak, coach Pham Anh Tuan continued to use the 5-4-1 formation as in the last round. In particular, the Nghe An coach changed the position of full-back, when the 19-year-old player, Bui Thanh Duc, entered the field from the start. Playing on the opposite wing was Vuong Van Huy. The trio of central defenders included Tran Dinh Hoang, Mario Zebic and Tran Nam Hai.
Phan Ba Quyen, Quang Vinh, Long Vu, and Manh Quynh continue to be chosen to play in the midfield position. Playing highest on the attack line is Olaha.
On the other side of the front line, Nam Dinh still possesses the strongest force. Notably, Hong Duy, Van Toan, Hendrio, Rafaelson, Nguyen Tuan Anh...
Because in yesterday's match, Hong Linh Ha Tinh won 3 points, while Hoang Anh Gia Lai drew with Thanh Hoa, so in order not to fall behind, Song Lam Nghe An needs to escape the empty-handed situation when leaving Thien Truong.
With that determination, the Nghe An team entered the game cautiously and chose a defensive counter-attack strategy. However, with an overwhelming force, Nam Dinh completely dominated the game and caused many difficulties for the defense of Song Lam Nghe An.
In the first 7 minutes of the match, Nam Dinh had 3 shots on target towards the away team's goal and 2 out of 3 shots almost shook Van Viet's net.
In the 3rd minute, after Rafaelson's unsuccessful attempt to dribble the ball in the penalty area, Van Toan responded with a shot but Song Lam Nghe An's defense fought hard to successfully block it.
Less than 4 minutes later, Rafaelson received a pass from Hendrio and then fired a powerful shot, but Van Viet played excellently to successfully block it.
After a period of massive attacks at the beginning, Nam Dinh could not maintain great pressure on Song Lam Nghe An's field. Therefore, the away team regained their rhythm and established some quite sharp attacking situations.
In the 30th minute, Olaha dribbled straight into the middle and then fired a thunderous shot, but Nguyen Manh played with concentration to block it.
Not stopping there, in the 36th minute, from a set piece on the right wing, Bui Thanh Duc crossed the ball into the middle of the goal for Long Vu, but the midfielder's header could not get past the opponent's defender.
1 minute later, from Quang Vinh's pass, Long Vu made a sensitive close-range shot, but it went just wide of the post.
Entering the second half, right from the first minutes, Song Lam Nghe An boldly organized an attack on the home team's field. Olaha received the ball right before the 16m50 line, but his kick sent the ball off target.
After many missed shots, in the 61st minute, Song Lam Nghe An opened the score. The goal came from an attack by Mario Zebic. The center back wearing the number 95 shirt headed the ball in the penalty area, hitting Ngoc Bao's hand. After checking VAR, the referee pointed to the 11m mark. Olaha took responsibility for the penalty kick and although he didn't need much momentum, striker number 7 easily fooled Nguyen Manh to put the away team ahead.
After the goal, Nam Dinh pushed up their formation to pressure Song Lam Nghe An. And it only took 6 minutes, since the goal, for the home team to bring the match back to the starting line. Center back Lucas Alves was pushed up like a striker and passed the ball just right for Hendrio to break through and finish with a perfect one-touch shot, the ball went low into the far corner while Van Viet was helpless.
In the final minutes, Song Lam Nghe An played resiliently and was rewarded when they won 1 point at Thien Truong Stadium.
Round 23, Song Lam Nghe An returned to their home field to welcome Thanh Hoa./.