SLNA lost to Topenland Binh Dinh at Vinh Stadium

Leaders of Nghe An province came to cheer on their team at Vinh Stadium. Photo: Chung Nguyen

On the afternoon of March 1, after more than 2 years, Vinh Stadium was able to welcome spectators back to cheer on the home team. Only about 2,000 fans were allowed to enter the stadium. However, that created a rather exciting atmosphere in stands A and B. Notably, there was also comrade Nguyen Duc Trung - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee and leaders of Nghe An province to watch the match.

With blockbusters in the lineup of both home and away promises to bring a lot of drama to this confrontation. In the starting lineup ofSLNAThere were not many changes compared to the victory over B.Binh Duong in the previous round. The only change was that Ho Phuc Tinh was on the field from the start to replace young midfielder Dang Van Lam. As usual, key players such as goalkeeper Van Hoang; central defenders Que Ngoc Hai, Van Khanh, Thai Ba Sang; fullbacks Xuan Manh, Dinh Hoang; midfielders Ojong Mark, Ho Phuc Tinh, Van Duc; 2 foreign strikers Olaha and Basit, were all in the starting lineup.

It can be seen that the focus of many people's attention in this match is the confrontation between the two players.Phan Van Ducand Binh Dinh captain Ho Tan Tai. These are two players who are performing quite well both for the national team and their clubs. However, Tan Tai has somewhat shown his influence on the team's playing style, while Phan Van Duc has not played very effectively.

Xuan Manh and his teammates tried hard but could not avoid defeat for the home team. Photo: Chung Nguyen

With the enthusiastic cheers from the A and B stands, the SLNA players were excited. Therefore, after the opening whistle, Coach Huy Hoang's students rushed to the Binh Dinh team's field to look for opportunities. Right in the 2nd minute, Xuan Manh had a pass on the left wing. This player then made a difficult cross, but Olaha was not able to get in time to receive the pass.

The left wing of the Nghe An team was the main wing in the first minutes. With the understanding of Phan Van Duc and Xuan Manh, they created a lot of pressure on the visitors' defense. In a coordination situation between these two national players, the defender of the martial arts team was forced to commit a foul. Captain Que Ngoc Hai had a free kick from outside the penalty area, about 20m from the goal, making it impossible for goalkeeper Vu Tien Quang to block. In the 20th minute of the match, SLNA led Binh Dinh with a score of 1-0.

It can be seen that the way the Nghe An club captain operates the game has changed a bit compared to the opening match. That was shown when Olaha and Basit operated outside the penalty area to attract the opponent's defense. Phuc Tinh and Van Duc acted as virtual strikers and filled in the hot spots left by these two foreign players. The rhythm and mobility of the Nghe An strikers made the blockbusters of the martial arts team confused.

However, the surprise came when, from a corner kick from the away team in the 24th minute of the match, Rafaelson scored from close range to equalize the score for Binh Dinh. This goal came from a mistake by SLNA's defense, when no one closely followed the number 9 of the martial arts team.

SLNA players celebrate after scoring the opening goal of the match. Photo: Chung Nguyen

The two teams, with their desire to show themselves, played fiercely. The tackles from both sides caused the match to be interrupted many times. And the result of these very rough moves was that captain Hoang Van Khanh had to leave the field after just over 10 minutes of play. This caused a great loss for SLNA's defense. The captain's early departure from the Vinh team partly affected the Nghe An club's equalization.

Entering the second half, SLNA controlled the game better. Olaha had a powerful shot with a compass in the 60th minute. However, the away team's central defender promptly closed in, causing the ball to miss Tuyen Quang's goal.

The Vinh home team controlled the ball better, but were not the most effective. Jermie Lynch raised the score to 2-1 for Topenland Binh Dinh in the 75th minute of the match. The goal came from a jumbled situation in front of Van Hoang's goal. The ball came to Rafaelson's feet, who made a reasonable cross for the striker wearing the number 12 shirt to easily break the balance for the away team.

At the end of the match, although coach Huy Hoang asked the players to push up the formation to find an equalizer, Olaha, Basit and Van Duc could not show their luck.

Losing the home match with a score of 2-1 in favor of Topenland Binh Dinh has made Nghe An fans dissatisfied. With such a monotonous playing style, in the coming time, Coach Huy Hoang still needs to make many changes if he hopes his team will achieve good results as the set goal.

At 5:00 p.m. on March 6, SLNA will have a match at Vinh Stadium against HLGL.