Song Lam Nghe An: Top 3 or Top 5?

If the defeat at Vinh Stadium in the second round of V-League was considered acceptable because at that time Huy Hoang was just starting his coaching career and faced a team with strong investment, if the two defeats against championship candidates Hanoi FC or Viettel were convincing reasons, then the two defeats against SHB Da Nang and Dong A Thanh Hoa left many regrets and concerns among experts and fans. Why is that?

First of all, both SHB Da Nang and Dong A Thanh Hoa were not in good form when they faced Song Lam Nghe An, if not bad. SHB Da Nang had only won one match at home against Hanoi FC before that, with many surprises that were difficult to explain. The domestic players were weak, the foreign players of the Hoa Xuan team at that time were even worse, to the point of not even being placed in the starting lineup.

SLNA lost at Thanh Hoa stadium. Photo: Chung Le's document

Mr. Thanh Hung was forced to field 5 U19 players but there was not much hope that they would make a difference. But then this young generation, especially with center back Duy Cuong, strikers Phi Hung, Dinh Duy suddenly became brilliant after a dream performance against Song Lam Nghe An. Huy Hoang's team dominated the first half but did not leave any mark. In the second half, they pushed up to look for opportunities but were easily "overtaken" by the aforementioned U19 players and had a "face-washing" victory of 3-1 to the surprise of many.

At that time, some people questioned whether Dinh Duy and Phi Hoang were really worth watching and should be checked in the following matches to know the truth about their remarkable rise? It was indeed a good performance, these young players played enthusiastically and effectively. These two players both had a good backline with 3 goals after the first leg, more than their seniors Van Duc and Xuan Manh of Song Lam Nghe An but still less than their seniors Cong Phuong and Van Toan of Hoang Anh Gia Lai.

But it seems that is all when SHB Da Nang lost 4 consecutive matches from round 12, 13, 14 and 15 and the young players' figures are increasingly fading in the general fading of the team. Young players' unstable performance, unstable mentality... are said to be the reasons when talking about Phi Hoang, Dinh Duy, Duy Cuong. From there, remembering someone's "questioning" about them after the unexpected victory against Song Lam Nghe An in the first leg, there is more basis for a vague reason, meaning that it is very difficult to understand, difficult to say when the Song Lam Nghe An defense is full of good players but plays so carelessly and naively, why, why?

In the recent match at Thanh Hoa Stadium in round 15, Song Lam Nghe An had a full squad of current national team players, U23, U20... while the home team lacked a head coach due to illness, with only a few former players such as Van Thang, Buu Ngoc, Trong Hung (reserve)... but they were still deadlocked like the previous meeting. But this time there was something different, that was the shining performance of foreign player J. Pinto with a double goal (free kick through the wall and coordinated counter-attack) even though this foreign player had previously played very poorly. Once again, the famous defense of Song Lam Nghe An was "innocently innocent" when they were absorbed in pushing up, leaving a huge gap behind for the opposing foreign players to exploit to "shine for the first time". Those "first times" worth mentioning, unfortunately, took place on the "land" of Song Lam Nghe An, which has a tradition of resilient defense, with defenders famous for "catching foreigners", not easy to overcome...

An unexpected defeat against a weak team is always hard to swallow for any team, not just Song Lam Nghe An. But losing due to carelessness, naivety, or lack of motivation is very difficult to justify or quibble over. The main thing now is to correctly diagnose the “disease” to find a cure. If the cause is from the coach or domestic or foreign players, then everything is not difficult, as long as we focus on curing it. But if the cause is outside, above the team, then everything is considered… hopeless?

Will Huy Hoang and his students be able to prove that the loss in the first leg was just an accident and that everything will be "within reach" in the upcoming match against SHB Da Nang at Vinh Stadium in round 16, when Mr. Thanh Hung's team has no way back, to regain 3 points in the process of defending the top 3 ranking (not top 5) that they have firmly affirmed since the beginning of the season until now?