Song Lam Nghe An: When will the attack and defense fail?

(Baonghean.vn) - A misunderstanding between center back Minh Duc and goalkeeper Nguyen Manh when the match entered the final minutes, gave away a valuable equalizer to the visiting team Than Quang Ninh. This is a common occurrence in SLNA's defense this season, becoming a real obsession for Nghe An fans.

Overall, the match at Vinh Stadium last weekend showed that Nguyen Duc Thang and his team did not play too badly against the team from the Mining Land. The solidity of Ngoc Hai and his teammates' defense made the dangerous strikers on Than Quang Ninh's side pale and harmless.

Meanwhile, on the attacking front, Phi Son, Olaha, Phuc Tinh... created many dangerous opportunities threatening goalkeeper Tuan Linh's goal. The goal in the 68th minute of "Vietnam's Ronaldo" came from the tireless efforts of the home team's players.

Everything went quite smoothly for SLNA, except for the goal conceded in the 89th minute due to a silly mistake by the experienced duo, Minh Duc - Nguyen Manh. A ball stuffed into the space behind the central defenders and in front of the SLNA goalkeeper, Than Quang Ninh regained 1 point to everyone's surprise.

This goal was somewhat similar to the own goal scored by defender Manh Hung in the 0-2 loss to FLC Thanh Hoa on the opening day of V.League 2017. And Nguyen Manh was the one who failed to fulfill his duty of “mastering the penalty area”.

Midfielder Phi Son (yellow shirt) still performed brilliantly but could not help SLNA win against Than Quang Ninh. Photo: Internet

In fact, such mistakes still happen frequently in football matches. Many high-class defenders and goalkeepers have made similar unfortunate incidents. However, to let them happen with such a high frequency as the SLNA defense is extremely blameworthy.

After 14 matches in V.League this year, the Nghe An team lost points at least 4 times in the final minutes of the match. In the second round against XSKT Can Tho at Vinh Stadium, center back Ngoc Hai scored an own goal when the clock was pointing to the last minute of extra time, preventing SLNA from winning.

A few days later, also at home, the Nghe An team was unfortunately shared points with Sanna Khanh Hoa after scoring 2 goals in advance. Unfortunately, the defense continued to play the role of the sinner with unnecessary mistakes. The goal in the 91st minute by Quoc Chi (Sanna Khanh Hoa) once again rubbed salt into the hearts of SLNA fans. It seemed that everything had been forgotten, but in the last 2 consecutive rounds of V.League (rounds 13 and 14), Nguyen Duc Thang and his team continued to make the same mistakes as in the past.

In the away match at Hang Day Stadium of Hanoi FC, SLNA had a pretty good match when they held the home team until the extra minutes. Unfortunately, in the situation where right-back Sy Nam failed to control the ball, Hoang Vu Samson immediately seized the opportunity to shoot past goalkeeper Nguyen Manh, helping Mr. Hien's team to win all 3 points.

The sad refrain once again appeared in the match between SLNA and Than Quang Ninh last Saturday afternoon (June 24), the home team Vinh threw away 2 points with a basic mistake by the duo Minh Duc - Nguyen Manh in the 89th minute.

The efforts of Phi Son and his teammates were thwarted by the defense time and time again. Without a quality foreign striker, goals were difficult for SLNA. The defense of the Nghe An team should have done better, instead of "giving away" opportunities to their opponents.

Who knows when SLNA fans will no longer have to bitterly exclaim, "When will the attack work and the defense destroy?"./.

Thanh Hung