Song Lam Nghe An was held to a draw by the visiting team Hong Linh Ha Tinh in the reverse final.

With only 2 more rounds left in the 2023/24 season, Song Lam Nghe An has no way back. They must win against neighboring team Hong Linh Ha Tinh in round 25, only then will coach Pham Anh Tuan's team hope to have a chance to avoid the play-off ticket.

Because, at this time, Hong Linh Ha Tinh is ranked 12th with 28 points after 24 rounds, while the home team Vinh is ranked 13th with 2 points less.

Therefore, the Nghe derby is considered the reverse final, the focus of this round. However, the Vinh home team faced a big disadvantage when key players such as Phan Xuan Dai, Phan Ba ​​Quyen, and Ngo Van Luong were all injured and could not participate in the match against Hong Linh Ha Tinh.

As usual, coach Pham Anh Tuan still uses the 5-3-2 formation. In which, Vuong Van Huy, Tran Nam Hai, Mario Zebic, Le Van Thanh, Bui Thanh Duc are arranged to play in the defender positions.

The midfield area will be taken care of by Quang Tu, Quang Vinh and Long Vu. The two strikers Ho Phuc Tinh and Olaha will play together on the attack line of Song Lam Nghe An.

On the other side of the front line, Hong Linh Ha Tinh still has the service of quality players such as Bruno, Tran Phi Son, Tran Dinh Tien, Bui Van Duc, Luong Xuan Truong, Nguyen Trong Hoang, Ibara...

The two teams showed their determination as soon as the ball started. Hong Linh Ha Tinh was the team that made the Vinh stadium audience gasp when they created the first dangerous opportunity in the second minute of the match. Ibara received a pass from his teammate, then ran down to face Van Viet, and fired a low shot into the net of Song Lam Nghe An. However, after consulting VAR, the referee did not recognize the goal for the away team, because he thought that this striker was in an offside position.

Immediately, Song Lam Nghe An responded with a close-range shot from Bui Thanh Duc. However, the defender's shot was too weak and could not defeat the opposing goalkeeper.

Determined to win all 3 points, Song Lam Nghe An was somewhat impatient when pushing the squad up quite high. And that was also an opportunity for Hong Linh Ha Tinh to launch lightning counterattacks. In the 10th minute, with a counterattack in the middle, Hong Linh Ha Tinh opened the score of the match. From a pass in the middle by his teammate, the striker wearing the number 99 shirt with the advantage of his physique easily overcame Le Van Thanh's challenge. In a face-to-face position with Van Viet, the striker of Hong Linh Ha Tinh made no mistake in executing a cool kick to open the score of the match.

After conceding an early goal, Song Lam Nghe An pushed up the pitch and put a lot of pressure on the opponent's half. However, the away team used a large number of players to retreat deep into their own half to protect their lead. This caused many difficulties for Olaha and his teammates in creating opportunities in front of Thanh Tung's goal on Hong Linh Ha Tinh's side.

In the final minutes of the first half, the ball mainly rolled on the away team's field, but Song Lam Nghe An still could not find a way into Thanh Tung's goal. Therefore, the first 45 minutes ended with a temporary victory for Hong Linh Ha Tinh.

In the second half, to increase the attack, coach Pham Anh Tuan sent Ngo Van Luong onto the field to replace Ho Phuc Tinh. And immediately, Song Lam Nghe An had a dangerous opportunity with a pass from the left wing by Bui Thanh Duc. However, at the close-range position, Olaha missed the header.

After nearly half of the second half, Song Lam Nghe An still could not find the net of goalkeeper Thanh Tung, coach Pham Anh Tuan continued to bring Dinh Xuan Tien and Tran Manh Quynh onto the field to replace Long Vu and Quang Tu. That change helped Song Lam Nghe An's attack to be more coherent.

In the 68th minute, Bui Thanh Duc made a cross into the middle of the opponent's goal, but Olaha once again could not make it difficult for Thanh Tung.

After much effort, in the 90 + 3 minute, Song Lam Nghe An scored an equalizer. From an attack on the left wing, a teammate passed the ball into the middle of the goal, Manh Quynh handled it neatly before finishing, making the Hong Linh Ha Tinh net shake.

The draw score of 1-1 was also the final result of this match. With only 1 point in round 25, Song Lam Nghe An had to win in the final round against Viettel and wait for the score of the match between Hoang Anh Gia Lai and Hai Phong to know their fate./.