Song Lam Nghe An and the problem of force before the second leg of V.League 2023/24

In the 0-1 loss to SHB Da Nang in the Round of 16 of the National Cup, Coach Phan Nhu Thuat could not risk using the best players that Song Lam Nghe An had and accepted to stop at this playground. In that match, the young players of Song Lam Nghe An also had many opportunities to score, but that was not enough.

However, that was the match where three young recruits who had just been promoted by coach Phan Nhu Thuat, namely central defender Phan Van Thanh, defender Bui Thanh Duc and striker Le Dinh Long Vu, were introduced. This was very important for Song Lam Nghe An's force in the context of the team facing a personnel crisis, especially in defense.

Currently, Song Lam Nghe An is seriously lacking in central defenders as Ho Khac Luong is injured, leaving only options such as Le Van Thanh, Le Nguyen Hoang and Mario Zebic. That is also the reason why coach Phan Nhu Thuat was forced to switch from a 3-5-2 formation to a 4-4-2 formation to "save" central defender positions. The presence of young player Phan Van Thanh will certainly help the Song Lam Nghe An coaching staff have more options in case of injury or penalty card.

In the position of full-back, Vuong Van Huy will have to sit out 2 matches, which are the matches against Hai Phong at Vinh Stadium on March 30 and the away match against Cong An Ha Noi on April 4. On the other hand, defender Mai Sy Hoang was also injured, forcing coach Phan Nhu Thuat to use midfielder Nguyen Van Viet to move to the wing to play in the position of full-back.

In midfield, Dinh Xuan Tien and Tran Nam Hai's injuries also caused Song Lam Nghe An to not have enough players in the recent matches. Fortunately, Nam Hai has completed the rehabilitation process and can practice again in more than a week. Completely in time to return in the match in Round 14. Nam Hai's return is very important because this player can also play in the center-back position in the context that Mario Zebic has received 2 yellow cards and just 1 more yellow card, the Croatian player can be out of the match at any time.

The Nghe team does not shop on the transfer market but uses players trained by themselves, which has its own reasons. If they do not promote the good players of U19 SLNA at this time, there will be no more suitable opportunity for SLNA's young talents. Especially in the striker position, in the foreign player position, although the Nghe team's leadership has a policy of finding a new foreign striker.

After the match in the Round of 16 of the National Cup, coach Phan Nhu Thuat said: "We decided to keep striker Success in the second leg because choosing foreign players takes time. Meanwhile, the time for selection and recruitment is quite short." With a deadline of March 23, most teams in the V.League chose foreign players who are currently playing in Vietnam without risking looking for foreign players from abroad.

Despite the difficulties, to be fair, this season, the young players of Song Lam Nghe An have not played badly. The only thing that Song Lam Nghe An lacks is the experience and bravery of the young players, along with the lack of luck of foreign player Success. Otherwise, Coach Phan Nhu Thuat's students have shown visible progress in each match, especially since the victory against M. Quy Nhon Binh Dinh as well as the draw at Hai Phong Stadium.

In this context, when the situation cannot be turned around by spending money on foreign players, Song Lam Nghe An needs to focus more on each specific match. Especially in home matches or away matches against "just right" teams like Hoang Anh Gia Lai, Ho Chi Minh City or Khanh Hoa.

In the past, Song Lam Nghe An had a difficult start in the first leg and played well in the second leg, which happened many times. A young team lacking in experience needs time to improve. Now more than ever, Song Lam Nghe An players need the encouragement and support of fans to overcome the challenges ahead./.