Song Lam Nghe An and the disadvantages when facing Nam Dinh

After a thrilling victory over "neighbor" Hong Linh Ha Tinh in the last round,Lam River Nghe Anhas temporarily risen to 11th place on the V-League 2024/2025 rankings. However, the fragile gap with the "red light" group makes the relegation race tense and full of pressure for coach Phan Nhu Thuat and his team.

It is worth mentioning that Song Lam Nghe An's direct competitors are making positive changes. The bottom team SHB Da Nang won against Quang Nam, thereby narrowing the gap with Song Lam Nghe An to only 3 points. Meanwhile, Binh Dinh, who just changed coaches, also had a valuable draw against The Cong Viettel to keep the second to last position. Despite the defeat, Quang Nam is still only 1 point behind Song Lam Nghe An. The relegation race has now become a thrilling chase between 4 names: Song Lam Nghe An, Quang Nam, Binh Dinh and Da Nang. Just one misstep, and any team can be pushed into danger.

In that context, Song Lam Nghe An entered round 24 with the pressure of having to score points to maintain the right to self-determination. However, the challenge in this round is a "high mountain" named Nam Dinh. This is the team leading the rankings and possessing extremely impressive form. Recently, the team of coach Vu Hong Viet showed their superior strength when "destroying" Hoang Anh Gia Lai with a score of 6-1, thereby continuing to maintain a 5-point gap with the second-ranked team Hanoi FC.

Meeting Nam Dinh at the present time, it is clear that Song Lam Nghe An must accept being the "underdog". And that makes the hope of winning points at Vinh Stadium even more fragile, especially when Song Lam Nghe An cannot field their strongest lineup due to contractual constraints with their opponent.

Accordingly, two pillars, Khac Ngoc and Van Khanh, transferred from Nam Dinh in the middle of the season, will not be allowed to play in this match. This is a huge loss for the Vinh team, as both are playing key roles in coach Phan Nhu Thuat's tactical scheme.

In defense, Van Khanh has become a difficult name to replace since returning home. The understanding between him and foreign center-back Zaracho has created a solid shield in front of Song Lam Nghe An's goal. Van Khanh's experience and solidity have helped Song Lam Nghe An's defense significantly reduce the number of goals conceded compared to the beginning of the season.

Meanwhile, Khac Ngoc is the “brain” of the midfield. With his technical ability, tactical vision and highly accurate passes, the midfielder born in 1992 plays an important role in deploying the game and creating opportunities for the attack. The absence of Khac Ngoc directly affects the quality of Song Lam Nghe An’s play, the team also loses a true leader in the midfield.

Not stopping there, Song Lam Nghe An also lost another important name, Ho Van Cuong. This young player with great speed and energy will be absent due to suspension after receiving 3 yellow cards. The absence of 3 pillars at the same time makes coach Phan Nhu Thuat face a difficult personnel problem, in the context that the team is in dire need of points.

However, there is still a spiritual support from the valuable victory against Hong Linh Ha Tinh. The brave performance in the recent Nghe derby shows that the Vinh team is still maintaining a fiery and confident fighting spirit, this is the only hope for Song Lam Nghe An to be able to create a surprise against the top team.

Obviously, the challenge of Nam Dinh is not easy to overcome, especially in the context of a shortage of players and the opponent's high performance. However, with the support of Vinh Stadium's audience and the courageous fighting spirit of the Song Lam Nghe An warriors, fans still expect a positive result, which could be of great significance in the increasingly fierce relegation battle./.

Duc Anh