SLNA: 'When the water reaches your feet, don't jump'?

Besides the match against rookie Binh Dinh, the playing style ofSLNAEven though they were short-handed, they still showed coherence and had some form. However, in the two matches against HAGL and Saigon FC, the audience was quite disappointed with the playing style of coach Ngo Quang Truong's players.

Imbalance

Xuan Manh is currently SLNA's best player. Photo: SGFC

If playing defensive counter-attack, the Nghe An team does not have a player who can act as a bridge between the defenders and the attackers. The fact that SLNA's backline only focuses the ball on Van Duc makes it easy for center-back Thiago to neutralize. SLNA's playing style is seriously unbalanced, especially when Xuan Manh has to drop deep to play as a defender.

When the home team Saigon had pushed the entire squad, including the two foreign players Bruno and Peter, to their own half, the chances of danger towards goalkeeper Van Phong's goal were almost negligible. The central midfielder duo Dinh Chau and Sy Sam played not badly, but it was clear that they were both types of players who tended to block and defend from afar rather than organize the match.

Above, Bruno has just returned from injury, his ability to coordinate with his teammates is only average. Peter, like last season, is only strong in speed with long pushes and strides but has no crosses or accurate passes. Buying foreign players to follow the trend rather than to supplement their weaknesses has made SLNA pay the price.

In the match against Saigon FC, having to retreat deep, the low formation became 4-6-0, the ball possession rate was only 39%, only 1 shot on target showed that SLNA was not ready for the 2021 V.League season even though they played their 3rd match.

The two foreign players Woo Sangho and Matsui of the home team only played averagely, but the goal of goalkeeper Van Hoang was already shaky. In fact, coach Vu Tien Thanh did not use many tricks, except for Cao Van Trien's long shots and the pass for Do Merlo to score, they had a victory. Knowing that speed is not The Nhat's strong point, striker Do Merlo proactively "asked to be marked" (to avoid Jelic) and scored a goal.

Question about physical fitness

With just a jump, Do Merlo scored against SLNA. Photo: SGFC

Not only The Nhat but also the central defenders Van Khanh and Ba Sang showed that they were at a disadvantage in the speed race with the players of Binh Dinh and HAGL. It seems that the late signing of contracts with foreign players, leading to the inability to assemble the team in time, and the physical foundation of the Nghe players is having problems, making it impossible for them to gain an advantage.

When they cannot improve their scoring, the defense which has been SLNA's strong point in recent seasons is showing holes.Coach Quang Truongwill definitely face difficulties. When two foreign strikers have been wasted, letting them run away in the last few matches, there is no reason why SLNA should not try to play with one domestic striker and one foreign striker to pull Peter back to play as a central midfielder.

Peter playing as a central midfielder will help SLNA arrange a domestic midfielder with a tendency to organize attacks in the midfield area, balancing the playing style more. V.League 2021 is on a break, SLNA's coaching staff needs to quickly stabilize the playing style because after meeting Than Quang Ninh (round 4), the Nghe team will continuously meet 2 difficult opponents SHB.Da Nang and Viettel.