Song Lam Nghe An won because the mountain town team played carelessly.

(Baonghean.vn) - Coach Tran Quoc Tuan has left the coaching bench. This coach feels stuck and confessed 'I don't understand what's happening to HAGL in the last 4 rounds'.

"Gratitude" Phi Son

The away team SLNA has had 4 consecutive matches in V-League 2017, kept a clean sheet and officially “got back on the ground” when leaving Plei-ku stadium with a goal difference of 0. However, honestly speaking, SLNA did not play well in this match. Midfielder Khac Ngoc was unable to keep the ball at his feet several times, exhausted in the late game battles. Even Phi Son, in many attacking phases, dribbled the ball and then stopped to catch his breath…and lost the ball.

This was also a match in which SLNA only controlled the ball 37% of the time, only made 278 passes (home team 464) and had a pass rate of 77%, the lowest in the last 4 matches. Even the successful tackle rate, which is SLNA's strong point, the Nghe players only achieved 54%, much lower than the home team's rate of 66%.

Danco scored his first easy goal in V-League. Photo: Dung Nguyen.

Compared to previous matches, except for the appearance of Van Vinh playing with Khac Ngoc in midfield, SLNA did not have many changes. This is quite unusual for those who understand the internal situation of the Nghe An team.

Not seeing Phuc Tinh replace Danko as usual, then "veteran" Van Vinh had to grit his teeth and try to play the whole match, Phi Son suffered a slight injury, limping on the field made Nghe An audiences watching the match worried.

The truth was only revealed when, in the post-match press conference, coach Duc Thang announced that a series of SLNA players had colds and fevers. Ngoc Toan and Phuc Tinh could not play. Nguyen Manh and Phi Son were also sick and not in the best physical condition.

The audience once again acknowledged the efforts of SLNA's coaching staff and players. An impressive "gratitude" ceremony for Phi Son and this is truly the most beautiful period of the "shorts, numbered shirt" career of this player wearing the number 10 shirt. The audience called, Phi Son answered with an impressive goal.

Wonderful tribute to Phi Son on the stands of Pleiku stadium. Photo: Dung Nguyen

Surprisingly, in addition to Phi Son's excellent tactical vision and many SLNA players who have been in good form recently, the home team players such as A Hoang and goalkeeper Van Tien were the ones who "gave gifts" to this number 10. SLNA did not play well but still won because the home team played carelessly. In a match where HAGL's defense made 2 fatal mistakes, it was natural that it would be difficult to get points.

It is quite a coincidence that the beginning and end of Mr. Tran Quoc Tuan's position as head coach of the Mountain City football team were both related to the SLNA football team. Ironically, it was goalkeeper Van Tien who indirectly caused Quoc Tuan - a person who started as a goalkeeper coach - to give up the hot seat to his colleague Duong Minh Ninh.

Young wood

What surprised the audience was that at the beginning of the match, both Van Toan on the right wing and Duc Luong on the left wing attacked the flanks quite well, Manh Hung was struggling with the home team's number 9 while HAGL focused on attacking the center.

Assigned to play the ball, Mobi and Ngoc Quang used too many long passes, lofting into the space behind the two central defenders. When Van Khanh and Ngoc Hai played focused, in front Van Vinh, Khac Ngoc and the mobile shield Olaha played enthusiastically, the opportunities for Cong Phuong, Minh Vuong and Van Thanh were quite low. When gaps appeared, goalkeeper Nguyen Manh was the one who successfully corrected the mistakes, causing the home team to be almost deadlocked in attack except for the opportunity from Chau Ngoc Quang's beautiful cut.

Coach Quoc Tuan's moves are known to all opponents because they rarely change during the season and change at different times of the match. The ability to read the game and adjust tactics is not Coach Quoc Tuan's strong point, making HAGL, despite having many good players like Cong Phuong, Van Thanh, Dong Trieu, only able to hold the ball. That's why they are young.

Coach Chung Hae Seong (Korea) will be present at Ham Rong Training Center on October 18 as Technical Director. People are starting to think about a new future for Cong Phuong and his teammates under the guidance of the Korean coach.

An Thanh