Song Lam Nghe An won the opening match of the Year of the Dragon.

After a 2-month break, round 9 of V.League 2023/2024 returns to Vinh Stadium with the match between Song Lam Nghe An and Binh Dinh.

Attending this match were comrades: Hoang Nghia Hieu - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee; Ho Le Ngoc - Member of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee, Head of the Provincial Party Committee's Internal Affairs Committee, Honorary President of Nghe An Football Federation.

In round 8, Song Lam Nghe An won an important victory against the home team Khanh Hoa. The 3 points earned on the away field helped coach Phan Nhu Thuat's team temporarily rise to 10th place on the rankings, with 9 points after 8 matches played.

In terms of force, in this match, Song Lam Nghe An faced many disadvantages when they did not have the service of foreign player Success because he had received 3 yellow cards. The player who was replaced to play with Olaha in the attack was Phan Xuan Dai. Besides, Tran Nam Hai could not play because of injury.

Unlike usual, in this match, coach Phan Nhu Thuat changed the team formation, switching from 3-5-2 to 4-4-2. Therefore, the two central defenders of Song Lam Nghe An were trusted from the start: Le Van Thanh and Mario Zebic. Meanwhile, Tran Dinh Hoang and Vuong Van Huy were arranged to play as full-backs.

Notably, in this match, Dinh Xuan Tien was able to return to the first team after his disciplinary sentence from the club ended. However, the midfielder born in 2003 was not used by coach Nhu Thuat in the official squad. Thus, the 4 midfielders of the Vinh home team will include Ba Quyen, Van Lam, Van Viet and Manh Quynh.

Meanwhile, Binh Dinh showed great performance when they ranked 3rd with 16 points. Also in the 8th round, the team from the land of Vo with tight play won all 3 points right on Hai Phong's field.

Therefore, the match at Vinh Stadium in round 9 is predicted to be very difficult for coach Phan Nhu Thuat and his team.

However, beyond expectations, with the home field advantage, Song Lam Nghe An entered the game confidently and controlled the ball more than the opponent. With a diverse playing style, the home team Vinh completely dominated the game. Notably, in the 6th minute, from Van Lam's cross from the right wing into the middle of the opponent's goal, Xuan Dai jumped high to head the ball, but Van Lam, with his experience, successfully blocked it.

In the opposite direction, as usual, Binh Dinh still used the defensive counter-attacking strategy. And with that style of play, the team from the land of Vo made the Vinh stadium audience gasp many times. Specifically, in the 9th minute, from a move up the left wing, Do Thanh Thinh dribbled the ball around the Nghe defender's flank, then made a beautiful curling shot, but the ball hit the junction between the crossbar and the post and flew out.

Despite playing with a young squad, Song Lam Nghe An was not afraid of their opponents. Coach Phan Nhu Thuat's team continuously put pressure on Binh Dinh's goal. In the 23rd minute, Olaha had a solo performance from the midfield area and then fired a powerful shot from a distance of more than 20 meters, but Van Lam made an excellent save.

Immediately after that, Manh Quynh continued to test Van Lam's skills by dribbling in front of Binh Dinh's penalty area and then unleashing a technical lob, but once again could not beat the goalkeeper.

In the 32nd minute, it seemed like Song Lam Nghe An had opened the score, after Phan Xuan Dai dribbled past both goalkeeper Van Lam and Binh Dinh's center back, but in front of the empty goal, the 2003-born striker's shot was inaccurate. After this situation, Van Lam was injured and was sent off, Manh Cuong came on to replace him.

Persisting in their attacking style of play, Song Lam Nghe An players were rewarded with the opening goal in the 45th minute of the match. From a corner kick by Van Lam into the middle of the opponent's goal, Phan Ba ​​Quyen jumped high and headed the ball skillfully into the far corner of Manh Cuong's goal, making the Binh Dinh net shake.

Entering the second half, Song Lam Nghe An continued to maintain the pressure as in the first 45 minutes and that was the key to helping the Nghe An team double the gap. In the 58th minute, from a pass from his teammate, Phan Xuan Dai used his speed to overcome the opponent's pursuit, then fired a low cross-angle shot to defeat goalkeeper Manh Cuong.

After being 2 goals behind, Binh Dinh decided to push up their formation to find an equalizer. However, coach Phan Nhu Thuat's team maintained a reasonable tempo of the match, and played a tight defense, so it was not too difficult to overcome the opponent.

In the final minutes of the match, Song Lam Nghe An proactively withdrew their formation to play defensively. However, the home team's counter-attacks always posed a danger to Manh Cuong's goal. And if they had been luckier, coach Phan Nhu Thuat's team could have scored more than 2 goals.

However, the result of the match remained 2-0 in favor of Song Lam Nghe An.

Round 10 of V.League 2023/2024, Nghe An team will continue to play at Vinh Stadium to welcome Hanoi Police Club./.