SLNA, from AZ after the first leg of V-League 2017

(Baonghean.vn)- Before the second leg of V-League 2017 will restart from June 24, 2017, Nghe An Newspaper will review the Nghe An team's achievements after the first leg.

After the first leg, SLNA played 13 matches, won 3, drew 5, lost 5, earned 14 points, ranked 11th on the rankings with the same number of points and position as last season. Compared to the team under coach Quang Truong, SLNA, in addition to 2 foreign players Olaha, Henry, The Cuong and Sy Nam are 2 new personnel of the team. Due to the appearance of The Cuong in the winger position, "veteran" Van Vinh was put in the central midfielder position with Khac Ngoc.

Professional mark

Midfielder Phi Son, with 3 assists and 2 goals in the first leg, along with goalkeeper Nguyen Manh, became the Nghe An player with the most impressive and stable performance. Phi Son always played aggressively, boosting the team's spirit when the team was in trouble. Of course, on the other hand, foreign player Olaha with only 1 goal (not to mention 2 matches in the National Cup) was the most disappointing player.

Young striker Ho Phuc Tinh is in good form. Photo: Internet

So far, 7 SLNA players have scored (not counting own goals by Manh Hung and Ngoc Hai), Henry is the player who scored the most goals (6 goals). In the first leg, SLNA's coaching staff often used the 4-4-2 tactical formation. When playing away or against strong opponents, the 2 foreign players would retreat to defend, then it would change to 4-5-1. Particularly in the away match against HN.T&T, with the overwhelming attack of coach Chu Dinh Nghiem and his team, SLNA's formation played low, following the 4-6-0 formation.

Having too many injured players, at one point SLNA had up to 8 injured players, with penalty cards, made it difficult for the coaching staff to arrange the squad. The Nghe An team's defense conceded 20 goals, including 3 matches in which they conceded goals and lost the victory in the last minutes. Poor ability to defend against high balls, along with poor physical strength in the last minutes of the matches, caused SLNA to lose many points in the first leg.

In the first leg, at Vinh Stadium, the comeback win against SHB.Da Nang in which Khac Ngoc scored a superb long-range shot to put SLNA ahead 2-1 and the 1-1 draw with Hai Phong at Lach Tray Stadium were considered the two best matches of the Nghe An team.

Against two strong opponents, the SLNA coaching staff and players had reasonable tactics and good fighting spirit, so they achieved positive results. On the contrary, the 2-4 loss to Quang Nam at Vinh Stadium was considered a match to forget in the first leg. Except for the mistake of referee Trung Hieu B, leading 2-0 but losing is something to learn from.

Regarding the fighting spirit, except for the 3-1 loss to Saigon FC, when the whole team “walked together” for the last 15 minutes to let the audience protest and leave, the fighting spirit of SLNA players throughout the first leg was quite good. A typical example was the 0-1 loss to host Hanoi FC, due to an elementary mistake by substitute player Sy Nam, but the audience was still satisfied because throughout the match, SLNA players played fiercely and aggressively.

In the second leg, striker Olaha will be positioned to play low. Photo: Internet

Waiting for domestic players

Up to now, S.Khanh Hoa BVN, Quang Nam, Saigon FC and Hai Phong are the teams that have not changed foreign players, the remaining teams are urgently racing to find new foreign players. There have been about 20 foreign players on trial at Vinh Stadium and none of them are like Henry, the player whose contract has just been terminated.

Meanwhile, in the 2 matches against Hanoi FC and Ho Chi Minh City Club, there was only foreign player Olahat, but SLNA played quite well and won both matches. That shows that if trusted, SLNA's young players can compete equally in the V-League, even with a squad of 2 foreign players and 1 naturalized player, coach Chu Dinh Nghiem could not beat the Nghe An team at home.

With the return of Thanh Phong in midfield, along with players Phuc Tinh, Viet Nguyen and Tuan Tai, it seems that SLNA's coaching board will gamble on "1 foreigner". When there is not much money and also cannot recruit quality foreign players, this is considered a wise decision, "in accordance with the people's wishes". The coaches participating in the V-League also admitted that "although they do not add foreign players, SLNA is still the dark horse of the tournament, climbing high is difficult but they are still a team with an annoying playing style".

AT