SLNA just did the unthinkable

The most recent loss of coach Chu Dinh Nghiem and his team was on May 2, 2019 against Yangon United in the AFC Cup 2019. In the V.League, S.Khanh Hoa was the last team to get 3 points when they left Hang Day Stadium on July 2, 2017.

So even without Moses, Dinh Trong and Duy Manh, and Quang Hai on the bench due to a minor injury, no audience thought SLNA would win. Since the 2005 season until now, SLNA has never had a draw, let alone 3 points when meeting the host Hanoi.

Reasonable strategy

Choose the option of playing tit for tat. Photo: Duc Anh

What made SLNA win? The first credit goes to coach Quang Truong and his colleagues, they chose to play an open game, playing tit for tat, instead of defending. SLNA's coaching staff used a counter-plan when they determined that Chu Dinh Nghiem would play "cannon cage" when arranging Thanh Luong - Van Quyet to penetrate SLNA's right wing guarded by Sy Nam.

SLNA pushed foreign player Alagie Sosseh to the bench, putting Tuan Tai in the center forward position. Young midfielder Tran Dinh Tien came in and supported Sy Nam very well in controlling the right wing, not allowing the two most mischievous players of the home team to play on the same wing. This is considered a "2 in 1" solution, in reality on the field, Dinh Tien supported the defense better than Tuan Tai.

On the contrary, watching Hanoi play against Quang Ninh and Hong Linh Ha Tinh, SLNA's coaching staff discovered the fatal weakness of the central defender duo Thanh Chung and Van Toan. This duo was quite slow in blocking the ball or racing with Tuan Tai or Peter. It must be admitted that coach Quang Truong had a pretty good strategy for this match, including personnel adjustments and using Van Duc as a "decoy".

Knowing that the opponent would focus on "taking care" of Van Duc, coach Quang Truong instructed the "veteran" Dinh Dong to proactively dribble from the central area. One of those times, the SLNA captain passed the ball to Van Lam, who shot from a distance into the Hanoi FC net. If Hanoi did not successfully exploit Sy Nam's position, the away team did a good job of exploiting Van Xuan's position, on the home team's right wing.

Believe in the young

At the beginning of the match, Dinh Chau and Van Lam were continuously bumped by the "veteran" players, Duc Huy, Thanh Chung, and Hung Dung, but they still stood firm. Photo: Duc Anh

It must be said that this was a match where SLNA’s coaching staff did a great job of psychologically supporting the young players. At the beginning of the match, Dinh Chau and Van Lam were constantly bumped into by the “old players”, Duc Huy, Thanh Chung, and Hung Dung, but they still stood firm. The two foreign players Rimario and Omar were separated by Gustavo, winning most of the aerial ball battles.

SLNA's management board kept Alagie Sosseh out, which also made Peter play more enthusiastically. But the acceleration of this foreign player made the home team's defense not dare to go higher. To keep 1 point, coach Chu Dinh Nghiem did everything to try to keep 1 point by sending Quang Hai and Viet Anh into a 4-4-2 formation. But goalkeeper Van Hoang and the excellent defense helped the Nghe team keep a clean sheet for the 5th consecutive match.

What remains

Not only the goal and 3 points to climb to the top of the rankings, but the spirit of both SLNA and his players has increased significantly after this victory. When the trust was placed in the right place, Van Lam, the youngest player in V.League, did what the previous 48 matches, V.League teams could not do, beat the home team Hanoi. In fact, this was a match where SLNA was a bit lucky when the ball hit the post once, but the victory was deserved, everyone acknowledged.

It's been a long time since "Mr. Hien's children" had such a sad birthday and SLNA was the troublemaker.