Song Lam Nghe An was held to a draw by SHB Da Nang at home.

Van Duc played with great effort but could not help Song Lam Nghe An win all 3 points at home. Photo: Chung Le

Before the match, the head coach of Song Lam Nghe An said: "The coaching staff and the players are still aiming to enter the Top 3.at the end of this season. To achieve that, getting a positive result in the match against SHB Da Nang is extremely important." The captain of Nghe An Club shared this because he understood that if the Vinh team did not win 3 points in round 16, completing the goal as set out would be an impossible task for the yellow team.

This task faced many disadvantages when Song Lam Nghe An only played with 2 foreign players, because Mario was slightly injured and was not registered in the competition list. The replacement for the Spanish midfielder was young player Tran Nam Hai. Coach Huy Hoang's use of this player was quite surprising, because playing in this position were also other senior players such as Tran Dinh Tien, Ho Sy Sam, Van Lam...

Song Lam Nghe An's foreign players did not leave much of an impression in this match. Photo: Chung Le

On the other side of the battle line, SHB Da Nang has the strongest squad. Players Dinh Duy and Phi Hoang, who caused sorrow to the Nghe An Club's defense in the first leg, both entered the field with full physical strength. In particular, Dinh Duy is very eager to show himself because he has just been called by coach Park Hang-seo to the National Team to participate in an international friendly tournament organized by the Vietnam Football Federation.

Despite facing many disadvantages, with the determination to win all 3 points, when the ball rolled, the Vinh home team quickly launched attacks to the opponent's field. As usual, Van Duc was the player who initiated the situations to approach Tuan Manh's goal. However, under the command of strategist Phan Thanh Hung, the Han River Club showed a rather cold playing style with sharp counterattacks. And in an exemplary counterattack situation, SHB Da Nang poured cold water on the home team. The situation originated from a pass by Captain Minh Tam in the middle of the match in the 6th minute. The ball came to the feet of striker Dinh Duy wearing the number 18 shirt with a skillful lob to defeat goalkeeper Van Hoang. The score was opened for SHB Da Nang.
In this goal, the first mistake belonged to Song Lam Nghe An's defense system, when Van Khanh completely forgot about Dinh Duy, allowing the young Da Nang striker to freely rush down to face Van Hoang.

The joy of Que Ngoc Hai and his teammates when they scored the equalizer. Photo: Chung Le

After the early goal, coach Huy Hoang's players showed quite a confused mentality. Many of the home team's attacks were disjointed and easy for the opponent to predict. However, the Vinh team also found their first chance in the 22nd minute of the match. From a corner kick by Van Duc, Xuan Manh was in an open position but his header went over the bar, to the regret of many Nghe An fans in the stands.

The opportunities created by the home team seemed to add to the fighting spirit of the Nghe An strikers. The attacks of Song Lam Nghe An were more fiery and posed more danger to the opponent's goal. The efforts of the yellow team were rewarded with a goal by Xuan Manh in the 25th minute of the match. From the opening ball from the middle by his teammate to Dinh Hoang. The right-back wearing the number 66 shirt had an accurate cross for Xuan Manh to run in and cushion the ball past goalkeeper Tuan Manh. The match score was brought back to the starting line.

But the joy of the Vinh home team did not last long, the defense of Nghe An Club made a serious mistake, allowing SHB Da Nang to continue to increase the score to 2-1. Dinh Duy passed the ball on the right wing to Phan Van Long. The striker wearing the number 11 shirt skillfully maneuvered before unleashing a tricky shot that defeated Van Hoang. The major fault in this goal belonged to Van Khanh, when he was easily passed by Van Long. In the 2 matches against SHB Da Nang, Van Khanh was the player who left the biggest disappointment for Song Lam Nghe An fans.

Entering the second half, the pressure to score made the yellow-shirted strikers quite impatient. Song Lam Nghe An's attacks lacked smoothness and surprise, so they did not pose much danger to Tuan Manh's goal.

In order to improve the playing style of Nghe An Club, coach Huy Hoang decided to send two attacking players, Manh Quynh and Van Lam, onto the field. It seemed that immediately the Vinh team created a clear opportunity in front of Tuan Manh's goal. Que Ngoc Hai, in a situation where he joined the attack, passed the ball back to Dinh Hoang. However, this player's kick went just wide of the goal.

The tireless efforts of the Nghe An players were rewarded with a goal from Captain Que Ngoc Hai. The equalizer came from a set piece taken by Van Lam. The ball reached the feet of the Captain of Song Lam Nghe An, whose close-range shot gave Tuan Manh no chance to block.

In the final minutes of the match, Song Lam Nghe An was at a disadvantage when Que Ngoc Hai received a direct red card and had to leave the field. Playing with one less player made the Nghe team's attacking ability lose its dynamism and they had to accept a 2-2 draw. With that result, Song Lam Nghe An was ranked lower than the teams in the Top 10.3 points ahead. After this round, V.League 2022 will take a break for the Vietnam National Team to participate in an international friendly tournament.

Round 17 will return on October 1, Song Lam Nghe An will continue to compete at Vinh Stadium to meet Viettel Club.