Head coach of Song Lam Nghe An shares advantages when facing Hoang Anh Gia Lai

With only two more rounds, V.League 2024/2025 will officially end. However, the situation ofLam River Nghe Anstill very tense when the Nghe team is still uncertain about staying in the league. With 12th place on the rankings and only 2 points above the "red light" group, coach Phan Nhu Thuat's team must win at least 4 points in the remaining two matches if they want to have the right to decide for themselves.

In the penultimate round, Song Lam Nghe An will host Hoang Anh Gia Lai at home. This is a pivotal match in the relegation race, and a victory will help the Nghe An team get one hand on a ticket to stay in the highest league in Vietnam. Although the opponent from the mountain town has secured relegation and no longer has a specific goal for the rest of the season, coach Phan Nhu Thuat is still very cautious, at the same time pointing out the advantages that can help the home team win all 3 points.

“This is a very important match for Song Lam Nghe An to stay in the league. Because if Song Lam Nghe An gets a favorable result in this match, they will have the right to decide for themselves the goal of staying in the league this season” - Coach Phan Nhu Thuat affirmed.

Sharing with Nghe An Newspaper reporters, the Nghe An coach said he was not too concerned about how Hoang Anh Gia Lai would enter the game when they had already completed their goal of staying in the league. Instead, he and his colleagues focused all their attention on preparing tactics and spirit for the team.

“I think that, even though they are in the relegation zone, Hoang Anh Gia Lai will still play their best when playing away at Vinh Stadium. However, I do not think much about this issue, but instead will prepare well in terms of tactics and spirit for the whole team,” said Mr. Phan Nhu Thuat.
One of the significant strengths of Song Lam Nghe An is its outstanding head-to-head record at home. In the last 10 times Hoang Anh Gia Lai visited Vinh Stadium, the team from the mountain town returned empty-handed. However, the head coach of Song Lam Nghe An still kept a calm attitude when recalling this impressive statistic.

“Hoang Anh Gia Lai often does not get good results when playing away at Vinh Stadium. This is also one of the spiritual supports, creating confidence for Song Lam Nghe An to be able to aim for a good match against the away team. However, in football, we cannot use past results as a measure for the present. I think that is just one of the criteria to be able to encourage the spirit of the whole team,” he emphasized.

Regarding the preparation for the match, the Nghe An strategist revealed that the whole team is focusing both mentally and professionally. The coaching staff has carefully analyzed the opponent's playing style to find out their strengths and weaknesses and build a suitable countermeasure.

“In terms of preparing the team mentally, we also confirmed to all players that this is a very important match for the team and hope that they will enter the field with the greatest will, desire, and effort to achieve positive results. In terms of expertise, we try to find out Hoang Anh Gia Lai's weaknesses and strengths so that we can limit and exploit them effectively,” he shared.

The upcoming match at Vinh Stadium is also the last time Song Lam Nghe An will play at home in the V-League this season. Therefore, coach Phan Nhu Thuat has sent a call to fans to continue to support the team to overcome the most difficult time.

“Before the final match of V.League 2024/2025 of Song Lam Nghe An at home, I would like to thank the fans who have always accompanied the team in the past time. In this important match, we really need the support and solidarity of Nghe An fans. I hope that this Sunday the fans will come to the stadium to cheer for the whole team” - he expressed.

Duc Anh