Song Lam Nghe An says goodbye to National Cup in the preliminary round

The joy of Quang Nam players after winning against Song Lam Nghe An in the 2023 National Cup. Photo: Chung Le

After a break of more than a month, the domestic league has returned and the National Cup is an effective "runaway" to help clubs get back into the game.

As for Song Lam Nghe An, after a series of unsuccessful matches since the beginning of the season, the opening match of the 2023 National Cup is an opportunity for the Vinh home team to regain the audience's trust.

According to the rules of the National Cup, the Nghe An team is not allowed to use foreign players in this match. That will affect Song Lam Nghe An's playing style to some extent, because they are not used to playing with all domestic players.

Entering the match, coach Huy Hoang chose a formation with 3 central defenders: Dinh Hoang, Van Thanh and captain Que Ngoc Hai. In this match, Xuan Manh was pushed to the left wing, the duo Bui Dinh Chau and Nguyen Van Bach played the role of blocking. Dinh Xuan Tien was assigned the task of creating play for the home team. Ho Van Cuong controlled the right wing. Trong Hoang and Dinh Tien will play together in the attack. This match marked the return of goalkeeper Van Hoang and midfielder Tran Dinh Tien after a long time of injury treatment.

Dinh Tien was allowed to enter the field but did not make much difference in Song Lam Nghe An's playing style. Photo: Chung Le

With the above recognition, it is obvious that Song Lam Nghe An is still the team that is considered to be the upper hand in this match. However, with the knockout format, even though playing at Vinh Stadium, Song Lam Nghe An still entered the match cautiously. In the first minutes of the match, the two teams mainly used long balls to probe the opponent.

The experience of the Nghe An team was shown through the handling of players with a level superior to their opponents. And that helped Song Lam Nghe An create a lead in the 11th minute of the match. Van Cuong received a long pass from his teammate on the right wing. The U20 Vietnam player used his speed, overcame the opponent's defender and then crossed for Trong Hoang to run in and accurately cushion the ball into Duc An's net. The goal showed the understanding between Trong Hoang and Ho Van Cuong, two players from two different generations, but understood each other quite well when the veteran wearing the number 9 shirt ran in right on Ho Van Cuong's pass.

Veteran Trong Hoang had a great match, but could not help his team get the desired result. Photo: Chung Le

After the goal, it was thought that Song Lam Nghe An would easily dominate the game. However, the quality of the passes from Nghe An's strikers was not high. Therefore, Quang Nam players were confident and created quite diverse approaches to Van Hoang's goal. According to statistics, in the first 45 minutes of the match, the away team had more shots on target than Song Lam Nghe An.

The highlight was Ngan Van Dai's missed opportunity in the 27th minute of the match. The player wearing the number 29 jersey of Quang Nam dribbled the ball on the left wing and made a powerful diagonal shot, but Van Hoang made an excellent save.

In the penalty shootout, Que Ngoc Hai could not defeat the opposing goalkeeper. Photo: Chung Le

However, coach Van Sy Son's students did not have to be too regretful, because 7 minutes later Van Hung restored the balance for Quang Nam. From a corner kick, Van Hoang saved a strong header from the opponent. However, the ball then bounced back and Van Hung was there to perform a bicycle kick volley that broke Van Hoang's net.

Entering the second half, Song Lam Nghe An continued to play cautiously, not pushing their formation too high to pressure their opponents. And it wasn't until the 60th minute that Song Lam Nghe An had their first shot of the half. From Trong Hoang's hard-fought dribble in the middle. The midfielder wearing the number 9 shirt pushed the ball past the opposing defender, but his final shot went wide of the post.

In the second half, after scoring the equalizer, Quang Nam thoroughly implemented the defensive counter-attack tactic. Therefore, Song Lam Nghe An had a lot of difficulty finding a way into Duc An's goal.

In the final minutes of the match, coach Huy Hoang decided to replace two young players Nam Hai and Phan Xuan Dai. However, Song Lam Nghe An's attacking play did not improve. Therefore, the match was brought to a series of penalty kicks full of luck.

With cool and precise shots, Quang Nam won on penalties.

Thus, Song Lam Nghe An said goodbye to the National Cup right in the preliminary round./.