Song Lam Nghe An defeated Long An and the story of the old man losing his horse!

(Baonghean.vn)- Bringing a "lame" squad of only 17 players to Long An, the basis for believing in a favorable result is only the "fate" of all draws and wins after previous trips of the Nghe An team. The rest is great skepticism for coach Ngo Quang Truong and his team. However, what SLNA showed in more than 90 minutes against the home team Long An, made everyone think of the story "tải ông thất mã".

The absence of central defender Hoang Van Khanh is the biggest concern for coach Ngo Quang Truong in this trip to the South. In addition to the solidity of goalkeeper Nguyen Manh, the central defender from Tan Ky has been the most stable player in the Nghe An team's defense for a long time.

In that situation, the best solution to ensure the safety of the home team's goal, Mr. Truong had to "reluctantly" use the duo Ngoc Hai - Manh Hung in the center of the defense. Since the beginning of the tournament until now, these two players have rarely played together in the center-back position, and in those rare times they often made serious mistakes. The clearest evidence is Lima's goal in the match SLNA lost to Saigon FC with a score of 0-1, or Uche's second goal in the match losing to Sanna Khanh Hoa with a score of 1-2.

Ho Tuan Tai has known how to shoot after a long period of silence.

It seems that “bad luck” has not let SLNA go. When the worries about the combination between Ngoc Hai and Manh Hung have not subsided, in the 4th minute, a collision with right-back The Nhat forced the player from Nghia Dan to leave the field.

As a last resort, Coach Ngo Quang Truong had to send young player Xuan Manh to guard the right wing and push The Nhat to play as a central defender with Que Ngoc Hai. This was an unexpected combination, because Ngoc Hai and The Nhat had never played together in the central defender position in an official match, not even in practice matches. With such a patchwork defense, many Nghe An fans felt uneasy for their team.

What no one expected happened, the coordination of the "unwilling duo" Nhat-Hai went beyond expectations. Watching these two players play, it felt like they had been together for a long time. Ngoc Hai played much more calmly than before, when he often read the situation to be present at hot spots. Meanwhile, the "substitute" The Nhat showed quite a clever and persistent pursuit.

It was the determination and aggressiveness of the number 2 player that made the dangerous strikers Simic and Henry have to work extremely hard in their disputes. The fact that the assassin Simic disappeared and had to retreat deep for most of the second half, along with Henry's obvious fatigue in the final minutes of the match, was enough to prove that The Nhat had a successful performance. And if anyone still feels doubtful, then watch the timely clearance in the 92nd minute, in the situation where Nguyen Manh failed in the aerial dispute with an opposing player.

Besides the excellent "two swords combined" performance of Ngoc Hai - The Nhat, there is also the combination that brings very positive results between Khac Ngoc - Thanh Phong. The central midfielder is the position that has caused Mr. Truong "buffalo" a lot of trouble throughout this season. Moreover, the most stable player, Vo Ngoc Toan, had to stay home due to a penalty card. If Vo Ngoc Toan and Hoang Van Khanh (if Khanh plays, Ngoc Hai will likely be pushed into midfield) were not suspended, it would be impossible for Thanh Phong to pair with Khac Ngoc in the center of midfield. Surely at that time, coach Ngo Quang Truong would use the central midfielder duo of either Ngoc Toan-Ngoc Hai or Khac Ngoc-Ngoc Toan. In the role of those substitutes, both Thanh Phong and Khac Ngoc had a very excellent match.

Not only playing the role of regulating the tempo of the home team's play, Ngoc "Fabragas" also made extremely delicate passes. The two goals scored by Ho Tuan Tai and Tran Phi Son both came from excellent assists by the player wearing the number 12 shirt. It has been a long time since SLNA fans have witnessed Ho Khac Ngoc having such a complete and excellent match.

Unable to demonstrate the leading role of his partner, midfielder Thanh Phong still left a very clear mark. With this player's aggressive playing style, he contributed to cutting off the communication line between the midfield and the foreign striker pair Simic-Henry on the home team. Forcing coach Ngo Quang Sang to direct his players to focus on long passes, or high passes inside, instead of attacking the center. It is not an exaggeration to affirm that Thanh Phong's excellence did not give veteran midfielder Phan Van Tai Em a space to show off.

Of course, the victory over the home team Long An was made up of many factors. But the "unwilling" changes such as pushing The Nhat to play as a center back, or the decision to use the duo Ho Khac Ngoc-Dau Thanh Phong in the midfield, contributed significantly to helping SLNA leave the South with all 3 points.

This victory not only extended SLNA’s unbeaten streak at Tan An Stadium, but also brought joy to Nghe An fans as they witnessed their team overcoming difficulties to win 3 valuable points. It was a victory that was associated with the story of “tai ong that ma”, or simply put, “necessity is the mother of invention”.

Le Thanh Hung