Song Lam Nghe An: Will the second leg stabilize the framework?

Compared to the team that scored the most goals in the first leg, Hanoi FC (19 goals), Hai Phong (18 goals), and Topenland Binh Dinh (17 goals), Song Lam Nghe An's 14 goals showed that the team's attack was quite good. Meanwhile, compared to Saigon FC (the "conceding champion" with 26 goals), Becamex Binh Duong (18 goals), Song Lam Nghe An only conceded 10 goals, equal to Hoang Anh Gia Lai, 1 more than Dong A Thanh Hoa, 2 more than Hanoi FC and Viettel (2 goals), which also showed that the Vinh team's defense played a good role, only being bad in a few matches against SHB Da Nang or Viettel. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Van Hoang's 7 matches without conceding a goal is a commendable achievement.

Basically, in the first leg,Lam River Nghe Anstabilize the attack with 2 foreign strikers Olaha-Oseni, unless Van Duc is penalized and has to be promoted. The fact that foreign players scored 6/14 goals proves the level of completion of the task of these strikers, and at the same time shows the diversity and quality of the squad when the midfielders and defenders of Song Lam Nghe An can all score from any position, any direction of attack. But it should be noted that when Song Lam Nghe An meets opponents who play in a cluster, give up the field, they are often deadlocked, chaotic and vulnerable to counterattacks like in the matches against SHB Da Nang or Viettel... That is the problem of the defense and especially the midfield when the force is always unstable, the arrangement may be having some problems from the coaching staff?

A training session of SLNA before the second leg of the V-League. Photo: Duc Anh

It is clear that the 3-man defense is always unstable in terms of strength and position. Van Khanh was injured twice, his form was unstable, Ba Sang made personal mistakes, was booked, the forced transfer of Ngoc Hai from left to center, Van Khanh from center to left... made it difficult to unify the command, the team seemed to be "marching and lining up".

In the midfield when defending, the two attacking fullbacks will be pulled back with Dinh Hoang on the right and Sy Hoang on the left. But Dinh Hoang once received a red card, so the "wings" had to be supplemented and it was not easy to achieve the desired requirements. Central midfielder Ojong Mark had to go through a few matches to play well in the middle of the field, then got injured. To fix the problem, Xuan Manh was pulled from the right midfielder to the middle to replace Ojong Mark and achieved better results than expected. Then there was the addition of Mario from the match against Nam Dinh. At the same time, there were the appearances of Van Bach, Xuan Binh, Xuan Tien, Nam Hai... in the midfield, but in reality, only Xuan Tien was trusted the most and for the longest time. In short, the trio of central defenders and the midfield were always in an unstable state, patched up today and patched up tomorrow, but it was impossible to say which was the strongest and most stable?

Everyone sees Huy Hoang's strengths in being decisive, trusting in the young players, and ready to put them on the field when necessary. But the question will arise: Van Bach played well in the victory over Hoang Anh Gia Lai, Dinh Tien played excellently in the victory over Nam Dinh away... but then, he was almost forgotten, why? A name with a basis for hope like Van Lam, why is it that after the first leg, he is still only on the registration list sometimes, sometimes not? In fact, in the first leg, Huy Hoang put young players of the U18 and U19 teams on the field many times, but the results were mostly limited and half-hearted? The hopeful U19 squad of Song Lam Nghe An so far only has 2 players, Xuan Tien and Van Cuong, who have "created" goals, far behind the achievements of their peers at SHB Da Nang and Becamex Binh Duong, why?

Van Duc is one of the pillars of SLNA. Photo: Chung Nguyen

It is easy to see that against strong opponents who play calculatingly, the teachers and students of Song Lam Nghe An can easily become stuck and harmless, from the foreign strikers to the over-reliant main players like Van Duc and Xuan Manh. And when one of these two pillars has a problem, such as the absence of Olaha or the overloaded Van Duc, the team clearly loses direction. To see that Huy Hoang has few suitable backup plans despite having a large force and being tested continuously?

It will be very difficult for Huy Hoang in the second leg when the opponent has many changes, when the pursuer is always close, challenging. Winning the second place in the first leg is worth mentioning, it is very difficult, but certainly keeping it in the final leg is even more difficult and arduous. What Song Lam Nghe An needs most at this time is stability, the best and deepest framework, meeting the requirements of the coaching staff to "read the game" best, and having a clear line to bring young players into the game in each match and the whole tournament.