Song Lam Nghe An: View from the stands

(Baonghean.vn) - Being a coach of SLNA is always difficult, because every Nghe An citizen can be "a coach". The following is an article by a Nghe An fan with a perspective from the stands..

It was thought that with more thorough preparation, SLNA's competition results this season would have a better chance of improving, but if we dig deeper, we will see that the "path" of the Nghe An team is "as slippery as a rock".

Duc Thang is almost as good as Quang Truong

After the first leg of V-League 2017, SLNA temporarily ranked 11th with 14 points, above B.Binh Duong, XSKT Can Tho and Long An. Meanwhile, last season under the leadership of coach Quang Truong, SLNA scored 15 points, also ranked 11th above HAGL, Long An and Dong Thap.

With 2 goals and 3 assists, midfielder Phi Son is the best SLNA player in the first leg. Photo: DN

The strange thing is that Long An's fate this year is exactly the same as Dong Thap's last year. Looking back at the 13 first leg matches, there are many similarities that are hard to understand. The difference that makes Duc Thang's team 1 point less is that they have 3 wins, 5 losses, 5 draws while coach Quang Truong has 3 wins, 4 losses, 6 draws.

And surprisingly, last season they only scored 17 goals, just 1 more than this year, with the same number of goals conceded being 20. Last year they scored maybe 8 away goals, this year only 5.

SLNA has a tradition of slow starts. Last year, after two 0-2 losses against Hai Phong and Can Tho, and a regrettable 3-3 draw with Quang Nam at Vinh Stadium, they had their first victory, 2-1, at Go Dau Stadium against B.Binh Duong.

This year, SLNA also had 1 loss in the opening match at Thanh Hoa Stadium, 2 draws in the next 2 matches, and only in the 4th round did they have a 2-1 win against a rather weak opponent, Long An. The main reason was still the late formation of the team with foreign players, which shaped the playing style.

At the end of the first leg last year, SLNA lost to 4 opponents, namely Hai Phong, Can Tho, Than Quang Ninh and Hanoi, and this year they lost 5 matches to FLC Thanh Hoa, Quang Nam, Than Quang Ninh, Saigon, and Hanoi FC. Thus, Than Quang Ninh and Hanoi FC are still difficult opponents in the past 2 years, and new coach Duc Thang knows how to score points at Lach Tray Stadium.

Last year, SLNA had two foreign players, Odah and Baba, who were highly expected. In the end, striker Odah was considered “okay” while Baba was a big disappointment. With a similar preparation style of “waiting until the water reaches your feet”, SLNA finally had two foreign players. But if Henry scored 6 goals, which was considered acceptable, Olaha has only scored 1 goal so far and no one knows when he will score another.

Return leg worries

The relegation ticket this season will almost certainly be tied to Long An, only a miracle can save coach Minh Phuong and his team. At Vinh Stadium, SLNA still meets strong opponents such as Than Quang Ninh, Hanoi, Hai Phong and FLC Thanh Hoa - the top teams. Away from home, they still meet SHB.Da Nang, or the "dark horse" S.Khanh Hoa... which are fateful opponents for the Nghe An team.

Coach Duc Thang still cannot escape from last season's performance. Photo: DN

With a defense considered quite weak among the teams participating in V-League 2017, their physical strength is worn out at the end of the season, Que Ngoc Hai and his teammates must fight hard if they do not want to suffer another defeat.

Without a specific goal, SLNA and some other teams are likely to fall into a state of “free fall” when they want to climb higher but do not have enough strength, and at the bottom of the rankings, there are teams that have raised their hands to receive. Last year, Coach Quang Truong had many matches where he was helpless to see points falling both at home and away, typically the 1-2 loss to S.Khanh Hoa at Vinh Stadium in round 16.

Not to mention, some SLNA players whose contracts are about to expire are prone to the mentality of playing to hold on, looking back and forth nervously. This is the time for the Nghe An team's coaching staff to do a good job of psychological work, to avoid last season, when there were matches where the opponents were no longer eager to play but still could not win.

An Thanh