SLNA had its first win.

(Baonghean.vn) -This afternoon (April 10), the Nghe An team had their first victory in the 2012 AFC Cup group stage after defeating the visiting team Kitchee with a score of 1-0 at Vinh Stadium.

Although the chances of advancing are not many and they have to face a strong away team, unlike previous matches, yesterday afternoon, SLNA players still entered the match with a high determination. However, with a squad consisting of many young and inexperienced players, within the first 14 minutes of the match, referee Apisit (Thai) had to issue 3 yellow cards to Son Ha, Ngoc Anh, Thanh Dat for their aggressive tackles. Without Trong Hoang and Hector, despite their best efforts, SLNA's midfield with small players like Van Binh and Hong Viet seemed to be at a disadvantage in the ball disputes with the away team.

Only needing 1 more point to advance to the next round, the away team players did not seem too hasty in this match. They played calmly and completely controlled the midfield, putting the home team in a passive position. SLNA's attacks were always blocked before the 16m50 area. Throughout the first half, SLNA only had one dangerous attack on the away team's goal with Thanh Dat's long-range shot in the 45th minute, but the ball went wide of Kitchee's goal. Playing at a slow pace, the away team almost opened the scoring in the second minute of extra time in the first half when striker Jordi unleashed a powerful shot that shook SLNA's goal, but the ball did not go into the net.

SLNA started with a squad of all young players and Son Ha was given the captain's armband for the first time.



The Nghe An team entered the match with great determination and fiercely fought for the ball.



Too impatient, the young players from Nghe An committed fouls and received consecutive yellow cards.



Abass' presence made the match more exciting and helped SLNA have their first victory in AFC Cup 2012.

Entering the second half, seeing that the away team was somewhat subjective, Coach Huu Thang let his players increase the speed of the match, along with that, the head coach of Nghe An decided to send striker Abass and then Trong Hoang onto the field to seek a home win. Just 1 minute after entering the field, with a hard-working dribble from midfield, Abass made a beautiful pass that created conditions for midfielder Hong Viet to shoot to open the score in the 66th minute. After this goal, the match became more exciting when the away team Kitchee pushed up their formation to find an equalizer. But the SLNA defenders under the command of Son Ha (who was given the captain's armband for the first time) showed quite a bit of confidence when successfully blocking the dangerous attacks of the away team. With the dedication of young players Dinh Hoang, Ngoc Manh, Thanh Dat, the away team's strikers were powerless to penetrate the SLNA defense and accepted the first loss in the AFC Cup group stage right at Vinh Stadium.

Although the chance to continue is not much with 4 points after 4 matches, the most important thing is that through matches like this in the AFC Cup arena, the young players of SLNA are becoming more and more mature, along with that the Nghe An team shows that no matter what lineup they play with, they still play with all their heart for the country. This is also a spiritual medicine to help coach Huu Thang and his team confidently prepare for the match against SHB Da Nang on Saturday afternoon at Vinh Stadium.

Duc Dung