Song Lam Nghe An: Weakness in the strongest place?

But that doesn't mean there isn't much to say, especially when both teams have strong changes in their squads entering the new season and one match is often not enough to fully evaluate every player and position on the field.

HostLam River Nghe AnPutting on the field all 3 foreign players (Vytas, Olaha and Kandolo), young players Nam Hai, Manh Quynh were named to start alongside the pillars Ngoc Hai, Dinh Hoang, Xuan Manh, Trong Hoang... Actively playing to press the field but until the end of the first half, from Trong Hoang's delicate pass, young midfielder Nam Hai handled the ball neatly, scoring the "opening" goal of the season for the Vinh home team. But unfortunately, "the joy was short-lived"... half a minute later, the away team scored the equalizer from Minh Tuan's excellent jump, "pressing" Van Cuong to head the ball past goalkeeper Van Tien. The away team almost had only one chance in the first half but they knew how to pass the ball past both Ngoc Hai and Vytas who had previously played quite confidently, so that striker Minh Tuan with good physique could quickly occupy the space and take advantage of this opportunity that could not be better.

Song Lam Nghe An's attacking moves in the opening match against SHB Da Nang mainly focused on the right wing with Trong Hoang's active activities. Photo: Chung Le

While the away team advocated a defensive play, Mr. Phan Thanh Hung pointed out that due to the bad pitch, the home team could hardly create many opportunities and many breakthroughs in the playing style without Van Duc as before. Manh Quynh was considered a replacement, a person to "fill the void" left by the player from Yen Thanh, but that was... impossible, even though he tried very hard to play his role well. Trong Hoang was the one who made the utmost effort when he advanced on the right wing, then moved in to play as a playmaker and a midfielder from the center, and he achieved the desired results. But the most commendable person was Nam Hai, the youngest player of the team born in 2004, when he did not show any "fear" in front of his seniors in defense as well as attack, boldly entering the opponent's penalty area and many times finishing from afar, including the "first goal" mentioned above.

After the match, Huy Hoang assessed that it was acceptable for the foreign central defender Vytas to be "okay" because this was his first appearance in the V-League, and he basically played to meet the requirements throughout the match, except for the situation where he could not read the situation and the opponent equalized from an aerial battle at the end of the first half. After all, the thing that Song Lam Nghe An has been beaten for a long time is this foreign central defender position, but now that the opponent only attacked once and was defeated as before, it cannot be said that Vytas Gaspuitis completed the necessary task? Let's ask if the opponent attacks more intensively and is harder to defend, how will this position meet the upcoming requirements? In the first match, Song Lam's strongest point with the formidable central defender pair Ngoc Hai - Vytas was exploited, becoming the "weakest point" even if it was only for a terrible moment!

The situation where midfielder wearing the number 17 shirt Nguyen Nam Hai scored the opening goal for Song Lam Nghe An in the match against SHB Da Nang. Photo: Chung Le

When the opponent actively plays defense, the strikers will of course find it difficult to demonstrate their inherent abilities. Olaha lost the supply from Van Duc, so now he has to "run empty-handed" or retreat to find the ball himself, which is obvious. Striker Kandolo also always receives the ball in difficult positions, but when he has the chance, he "shoots the bird" very disappointingly. Fortunately, in a match where both foreign players are equally weak, it is inevitable that domestic players Nam Hai and Minh Tuan will speak up.

A home draw is not what Song Lam Nghe An wants. The main thing is that the Vinh team cannot "forget" Van Duc soon with the sudden changes that this star has. Hope for Trong Hoang's late maturity is also very difficult to realize because in addition to his efforts, he also needs the synchronization of many satellites around him, and that currently seems quite far away?

That means the team is having problems with all 3 lines, even though Van Hoang, Xuan Tien, Dinh Tien... have not entered the field yet. The coaching staff of Song Lam Nghe An should worry about it soon when opponents like Dong A Thanh Hoa, Thep Xanh Nam Dinh, especially Cong An Ha Noi all have extremely favorable openings and are even extremely successful with a series of new factors and great foreign players.

Starting early will create good momentum for every step and come later. Winning an initial point is not bad and hopefully Song Lam Nghe An will draw the necessary lesson after what was not good and not stable in the first step?