Song Lam Nghe An beat Ho Chi Minh City 2-1: Coach Phan Nhu Thuat's impressive debut

Soladio celebrates after helping Song Lam Nghe An open the scoring. Photo: Chung Le

The match between Song Lam Nghe An and Ho Chi Minh City Club is considered a reverse final of V.League 2023. Because at this stage, the two teams are struggling at the bottom of the rankings. Song Lam Nghe An is in dire need of a victory to boost the players' morale and regain the trust of the fans.

To help the team escape the relegation zone, after round 10, Song Lam Nghe An decided to change coaches. Coach Phan Nhu Thuat was trusted to be appointed to the hot seat of the Vinh team.

The match saw a large number of fans come to Vinh Stadium to watch. Photo: Chung Le

As soon as he took over as head coach, Phan Nhu Thuat made significant changes to Song Lam Nghe An's starting lineup. Accordingly, Nguyen Van Bach and Dang Van Lam of the Nghe An team were paired together for the first time in the central midfielder role. Trong Hoang was pushed down to play in the right-back position. The position that made his name under coach Park Hang-seo in the Vietnam national team. In addition, Tran Nam Hai was pulled back to play as a central defender with Que Ngoc Hai and Vysta.

Van Lam was in the starting lineup in this match and brought positive signals to SLNA. Photo: Chung Le

With the change in the coaching bench, Song Lam Nghe An has received support from a large number of Nghe An fans. In addition, the Vinh home team also received encouragement and support from comrades: Nguyen Duc Trung - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, Hoang Nghia Hieu - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee.

Leaders of Nghe An province attended the match of round 11 at Vinh stadium. Photo: Chung Le

Determined to win all 3 points, as soon as the opening whistle blew, Song Lam Nghe An took the initiative to control the game and attack. Notably, Song Lam Nghe An's coordination in this match had significant changes. The Vinh home team mainly relied on low-level ball rotations, with highly unpredictable passing.

That style of play immediately paid off with Song Lam Nghe An opening the scoring in the 19th minute of the match. The goal came from Mai Sy Hoang's pass to Soladio towards the second post. The Belgian striker made a tricky header, scoring the away team's goal.

After the goal, Song Lam Nghe An continued to actively pressure their opponents. The coordination between Van Lam, Van Bach, Sy Hoang, and Trong Hoang showed unexpected softness and elegance. And that continued to bring joy to the large number of Nghe An fans present in the stands.

In the 25th minute, after a series of coordinated situations on the left wing, Van Lam confidently controlled the ball past the opposing defender before making a pass inside for Soladio to tactically head the ball for Olaha to accurately cushion, doubling the gap for Song Lam Nghe An. This was truly a dream start for the impressive debut of coach Phan Nhu Thuat.

Olaha had an impressive match at Vinh Stadium. Photo: Chung Le

With 2 goals after a series of coherent attacks, Song Lam Nghe An players seemed to be more excited as they continuously caused trouble for Huu Nghia's goal.

However, the surprise came in the 35th minute, when Ho Chi Minh City Club scored a goal to shorten the gap. From Hoang Vu Samson's kick from about 40m away, the ball went hard, leaving goalkeeper Van Viet with no chance to block. This could be considered the most beautiful masterpiece of this round.

Entering the second half, Song Lam Nghe An continued to dominate the game, with Trong Hoang and Que Ngoc Hai advancing. It is worth mentioning that, in order to have smooth passing and passing phases, coach Phan Nhu Thuat's team moved the formation quite synchronously and rhythmically. In addition, the Vinh home team's runs without and with the ball were also quite flexible.

Then, in the 71st minute, Olaha, with his technical ability to maneuver in a tight space, created an opportunity that could have scored against Huu Nghia. However, the Nigerian striker's kick went straight to the position that the Ho Chi Minh City Club goalkeeper had chosen.

The Nghe An team created consecutive opportunities during the second half. However, Olaha and Van Viet lacked the luck to turn the opportunities into goals.

In the final minutes of the match, Ho Chi Minh City Club pushed forward to find an equalizer. But facing the well-organized defense of the home team, coach Vu Tien Thanh's team could not find a way to reach Van Viet's goal.

The 2-1 score remained until the end of the match. With this victory, Song Lam Nghe An rose to 10th place in the V.League 2023 rankings.