Song Lam Nghe An - Hong Linh Ha Tinh: Equally matched

According to the V.League 2020 rankings, SLNA is in 9th place with 11 points, a position that is not safe even though the gap with the group above is only 1 win. Meanwhile, HL Ha Tinh, after losing to HAGL, is still in 12th place with only 7 points.

The first “Nghe Derby” was supposed to be an uneven match, but with SLNA facing many difficulties, the match at Vinh Stadium is expected to be heated and fierce because both teams are thirsty for points.

The reason why the match between SLNA and HL Ha Tinh was not balanced is because the Vinh team, with 41 years of formation and development, has become a symbol of V.League when it has never been relegated. Its tradition and experience are also superior to a newly promoted and transferred HL Ha Tinh.

SLNA's foreign striker pair still hasn't scored a goal. Photo: Xuan Thuy

However, things have turned around, SLNA is now in trouble after 3 consecutive losses against Ho Chi Minh City, Nam Dinh and most recently Quang Nam Club at Tam Ky Stadium. In those 3 losses, the defense which had 5 clean sheets at the beginning of the season lost itself. Goalkeeper Van Hoang had to pick the ball out of the net a total of 8 times.

In terms of expertise, SLNA's current strength cannot be considered superior to HL Ha Tinh's. The Nghe An team is missing a series of important players such as Van Khanh, Xuan Manh, Xuan Thang due to injury. In the next match, Dang Van Lam will not be able to play because he has received 3 yellow cards.

The most worth-watching players of SLNA at this time are Phan Van Duc and Ho Tuan Tai – the player who just scored in the previous match. And one of the regrettable things in this match is that midfielder Le Manh Dung, who grew up in the SLNA academy, cannot participate because he has not recovered from injury. On the other hand, striker Victor Mansaray of the away team has just been suspended.

HL Ha Tinh's force is not inferior to SLNA's. Photo: Xuan Thuy

Although the players of HL Ha Tinh have just been promoted to play in the V.League, Coach Pham Minh Duc's students have had very impressive matches in their first season at the top level. First was the 2-0 win over Than Quang Ninh in round 3, holding 4 teams: Hanoi, SHB Da Nang, Saigon and B. Binh Duong. These are all teams with quite strong attacks and are highly rated.

Not only that, HL Ha Tinh's foreign players are not only of better quality but also more effective than SLNA's foreign players. The proof is that in the past 8 matches, the striker duo Peter Samuel and Alagie Sosseh have not scored a single goal. Meanwhile, HL Ha Tinh's striker Bruno de Sousa has scored 4 goals.

In fact, HL Ha Tinh's attack is 1 goal better than SLNA's attack, but that also shows that foreign players are the mainstay of the away team, while SLNA's foreign strikers only bring disappointment. SLNA's domestic players are having to take on the work of foreign players. That is a sad reality for a team that has been in the V.League for many years.

This is the first time they have met in the V.League, so the head-to-head record of the two teams has not been taken into account. However, in the friendly matches at the beginning of the season, SLNA often gets better results thanks to having enough force and the two teams playing without foreign players. Therefore, it cannot be said that HL Ha Tinh will be easily "bullied" like the previous times.

Technically, both teams chose the defensive counter-attacking style as their forte, but the way they deployed it was completely different. The away team HL Ha Tinh tended to accelerate earlier, so they scored 2 goals in the first 30 minutes, 3 goals in the 60-75 minutes (accounting for 50%) and the remaining 1 goal in the last 15 minutes of the match.

In contrast to SLNA, the Nghe An team only really played well in the second half. Coach Quang Truong's students scored 5 goals, 3 of which (60%) came from minutes 45-60, the remaining two goals were scored at the end of the match.

SLNA chose the 4-4-1-1 formation and often played well in the second half, while HL Ha Tinh prioritized the 3-4-3 tactic, often entering the game quickly and accelerating at the end of the match. Graphics: TK

The “Nghe An Derby” is not only attractive because of the heat and special attention of football fans from Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces, but also because on the field, the young players of both teams want to prove their class and level.

Obviously, SLNA cannot be subjective to the team led by coach Pham Minh Duc, but with the mentality of a senior team, how they choose to enter the game and play football is also something that Nghe An fans are eagerly waiting for. In many aspects, SLNA is slightly better but the chance of HL Ha Tinh getting points is not small.

FIFA referee to officiate the 'Derby' match between Song Lam Nghe An - Hong Linh Ha Tinh?

(Baonghean.vn) - After the negative feedback about the referees in the recent rounds of V.League, the tense match between Song Lam Nghe An and Hong Linh Ha Tinh will likely be officiated by referee Ngo Duy Lan - the highest-ranking FIFA referee in Vietnamese football.