Song Lam Nghe An improves position through each round

Surprisingly, the Hai Phong team has always been an unpleasant guest, not only for SLNA, who just won 3-1 against T. Binh Dinh in the previous round. Coach Chu Dinh Nghiem of Hai Phong is the most successful coach in the V-League, while coach Huy Hoang is just the first time to practice this difficult profession. Therefore, even when playing at home, the opponent is missing the main striker Rimario, the Vinh team as well as many Nghe An fans are still somewhat worried, not sure whether SLNA will recover quickly after the "weak match" at Hoa Xuan Stadium in the previous round or not?

Situation in the match between SLNA and Hai Phong. Photo: Xuan Thuy

The reason for a win for the home team is because in fact, in terms of domestic players, SLNA has at least 4-5 national players: Ngoc Hai, Van Hoang, Xuan Manh, Van Duc and veteran Dinh Hoang, not to mention candidates for the Vietnam U23 team such as Sy Hoang, Van Viet, Van Lam, Xuan Tien, Van Cuong... Meanwhile, Hai Phong player Van Toan did not play due to injury, players Trieu Viet Hung and Ngoc Quang entered the field from the beginning but could not shoulder the individual tasks as well as connect with teammates.

Regarding foreign players, the trio that makes up the backbone of Hai Phong, Mpande-Mosess-Rimario, has actually passed their prime. Without Rimario, the "destination" of all attacking moves and the finishing efficiency that they once had, has gradually disappeared.

On SLNA's side, despite the absence of Ojong Mark, the duo Olaha-Oseni was capable of stirring up trouble, stretching out, and exhausting the defense, creating space for SLNA's excellent domestic players to continuously score.

In fact, the victory of the host SLNA also shows another important difference. That is the process of gradually perfecting the position of each individual in the overall playing style of the whole team.

After 9 rounds, SLNA's squad has stabilized its framework but the need to add and change some positions has been continuous. Goalkeeper Van Hoang is number 1 in the goal, but had to be absent in round 8 due to illness. The three-man defense but only Ngoc Hai was present for all 8 rounds (SLNA rested in round 5) and is considered the best player. Van Khanh started in round 1, 15 minutes in round 2, rested consecutively in rounds 3, 4 and returned from round 6 until now.

It seems that the captain's armband on Van Khanh's hand made him more "psychological" so he did not play well in round 8. In round 9, the responsibility armband was given to Ngoc Hai, at the same time moving this famous central defender from the left central defender to the center position, moving Van Khanh from the center to the left. This is the decisive step to strongly promote the role of team leader, create unified command, and promote the inherent capacity of each individual.

In midfield, Van Duc and Xuan Manh have been working hard since the beginning of the tournament and have always had to shoulder many tasks depending on the actual situation. Xuan Manh, from playing as an attacking fullback and a winger, has moved to central midfield after Ojong Mark was injured and is now blocking well, distributing cards well in all aspects. Van Duc is the center receiving the ball, changing positions and when needed, moving into the middle like a real striker, filling in the gap created by the two wingers.

The midfield positions are filled with many young players such as Xuan Tien, Van Bach, Xuan Binh, Van Viet, Dinh Tien... but currently Xuan Tien is the main player for 4 consecutive matches, the time on the field has gradually increased from 65 minutes to 75-80 minutes per match. SLNA's two attacking positions will almost be stable with the above 2 foreign players and they are gaining the trust of the coaching staff and many fans.

Hopefully, over time, Coach Huy Hoang will gradually mature and read the game in the best possible way. Following that is the process of training and practicing to find the best framework, the best reserve positions, the fastest progressing young players, in order to achieve the best results after each round.

The victory over Hai Phong temporarily helped SLNA regain the top spot that they had lost in round 8, extending their winning streak at home to 4 consecutive matches, after losing the match in round 2. Van Duc and Xuan Manh "opened fire" at the same time, in which Van Duc scored a super goal for the second time (in the matches against HAGL and Hai Phong). Sy Hoang continued to play the role of creator and Xuan Tien did this meaningful thing for the first time. Two out of 3 goals scored in the match against Hai Phong came from set pieces and the authors were all domestic strikers, showing that Huy Hoang's team has a lot of potential and the danger to the opponent always comes from all positions. That is the basis to believe in a favorable result in the upcoming rounds, although the difficulties ahead will not be the same or repeated in any match?