Song Lam Nghe An shares points with Hai Phong in the first match of the second leg of V.League 2023/24
(Baonghean.vn) - Song Lam Nghe An could not quench their thirst for victory when they were held to a draw by Hai Phong at Vinh Stadium, in the first match of the second leg of V.League 2023/24. The match took place at 6:00 p.m. on March 30.
After a series of 4 matches without knowing the taste of victory, Song Lam Nghe An entered the first match of the second leg of V.League 2024 to meet Hai Phong. This is a team that is quite popular with the Nghe team. Because according to the history of confrontation between the two teams, Song Lam Nghe An is dominating, when in the last 5 times visiting Vinh Stadium, Hai Phong Club has not known the taste of victory. The team from the port city only had 2 draws and lost 3 matches.
Also during the break in the 2023/24 V.League season, coach Phan Nhu Thuat renewed the playing style for Song Lam Nghe An. Specifically, the Nghe An captain built more plans to effectively use foreign player Success. Previously, this player had played below his ability throughout the first leg of the match.
In the match against Hai Phong, coach Phan Nhu Thuat arranged the team in a 4-4-2 formation, with Success playing as a left midfielder. Meanwhile, the 4 defenders included Tran Dinh Hoang, Le Van Thanh, Mario Zebic and Mai Sy Hoang. In addition to Success, the 3 remaining midfielders of the Nghe An team were Phan Ba Quyen, Dang Van Lam and Nguyen Van Viet. The striker duo, as usual, still belonged to Olaha and Phan Xuan Dai.
Determined to win the first match in the opening match of the second leg, Song Lam Nghe An took the initiative to control the ball as soon as the starting whistle blew.
However, Hai Phong was the team that held the opportunity to open the score of the match. In the 9th minute, from a teammate's pass, the ball found Nguyen Tuan Anh, the midfielder wearing shirt number 79 performed a technical kick, but the ball missed Van Viet's goal by a hair.
To counter the home team's small-sided play, Hai Phong players used a close-quarters approach and did not hesitate to commit fouls from afar. This often caused the match to break down and not many opportunities were created by the two teams.
Not only firmly protecting Dinh Trieu's goal, Hai Phong's strikers also caused many difficulties for Song Lam Nghe An's defense. In the 30th minute, from Trieu Viet Hung's corner kick, goalkeeper Van Viet was forced to punch the ball out, Manh Dung was there in time to kick with great force, but the ball went wide of Hai Phong's goal.
Lacking coordination, it was not until the 39th minute that Song Lam Nghe An had their first shot towards Dinh Trieu's goal. However, from such a long distance, Olaha was unable to get the ball on target.
Less than 5 minutes later, Olaha continued to cause trouble for the opponent's defense. The Nigerian striker controlled the ball well to eliminate the Hai Phong defender, but the cross was blocked by the away team.
Entering the second half, in order to bring more variation in play, coach Phan Nhu Thuat decided to put Manh Quynh and Quang Tu on the field to replace Van Viet and Van Lam.
This helped the Vinh home team's attack play with more fire. In the 47th minute, from a quick attack on the left wing, Success dribbled at speed, twisted the opponent's flank, then fired a powerful left-footed shot, but the Hai Phong defenders fought hard to block it.
In the second half, Song Lam Nghe An increased the speed of the match. Therefore, more opportunities appeared towards Dinh Trieu's goal. In the 54th minute, Tran Dinh Hoang got the ball on the left wing and then made a technical kick, but the opponent's goalkeeper was able to fly to block it.
In the final minutes of the match, both teams did not want to leave with 1 point, so they increased the attack tempo. In the 82nd minute, Song Lam Nghe An had a chance to open the score after Manh Quynh crossed the ball towards the second post for Long Vu. However, the 2006-born midfielder's volley did not have the accuracy needed to open the score.
In the opposite direction, Hai Phong also had a clear chance in the 85th minute of the match, but Elogo's header did not hit the target.
Unable to find a way into each other's goal, the two teams accepted to share points and hold each other in the bottom half of the rankings.
Round 15, Song Lam Nghe An will travel to Hang Day Stadium to meet host Hanoi Police.
