Song Lam Nghe An and the 90th-minute dilemma.

After 8 matches, Song Lam Nghe An has 2 wins, 3 draws, and 3 losses. Their home record is unbeaten with 1 win against Hoang Anh Gia Lai and 2 draws against The Cong - Viettel and Quang Nam. The most disappointing draw for Song Lam Nghe An at home was against Quang Nam, where the team from Nghe An province ran out of steam and conceded a 4-4 equalizer in the 90th minute. Thus, Song Lam Nghe An dropped two valuable points at home in round 4.

Playing away from home in round 2,Lam River, Nghe AnThey also dropped two points away at Ha Tinh after leading their neighbors 1-0. However, in the 90+2 minute, a momentary lapse of concentration from the Song Lam Nghe An defense and an excellent performance from Dinh Thanh Trung resulted in a 1-1 draw for the Nghe An team.

Most recently, in the match at Thong Nhat Stadium in round 7, they were almost certain to secure a point away from home, but a mistake by defender Vuong Van Huy in the 90+1 minute led to a bitter defeat for the Nghe An team with a minimal score. In total, in the three aforementioned matches, Song Lam Nghe An lost 5 points, all due to goals conceded in the 90th minute.

And if the match had lasted only 89 minutes, or if the young Song Lam Nghe An players had shown more composure and experience, the team from Nghe An would have had 14 points, a position in the top 5 instead of the top 10 as it is now. Of course, that's just an interesting hypothesis, but it also shows that the problem for the young Song Lam Nghe An players is their mentality, physical fitness towards the end of the match, and their ability to control and regulate the game when leading.

In another statistic, this season Song Lam Nghe An conceded 12 goals, an average of 1.5 goals per match. The reasons could stem from the instability of the defense due to injuries and suspensions, but the crucial factor is avoidable mistakes and the fact that Song Lam Nghe An is using young players. Players like Van Viet, Van Huy, Ba Quyen, Van Thanh, and Nguyen Hoang are all under 23 years old.

Only center-back Mario Zebic was a bright spot in the defense, but even he couldn't completely fill the gaps left by Que Ngoc Hai. To solve this problem, coach Phan Nhu Thuat boldly used Quang Vinh as a central midfielder, allowing Nam Hai to move back to play as a center-back. Even so, the Song Lam Nghe An coaching staff still needs to find ways to strengthen the defense, despite always deploying five defenders in front of the goal.

On the attacking front, Song Lam Nghe An only scored 9 goals, a rather modest achievement. Their main striker, Michael Olaha, scored 3 goals, but that was a hat-trick in a draw against Quang Nam. This player still needs to be more precise, improve his finishing, and capitalize on opportunities to score more goals for Song Lam Nghe An.

Not only do they frequently concede goals from the 90th minute onwards, but Song Lam Nghe An also shows signs of fatigue from the 60th to 90th minute. Statistics show that in the last 30 minutes of their last 8 matches, Song Lam Nghe An has only scored a single goal. Clearly, in crucial moments of the game, coach Phan Nhu Thuat's players have not been at their best to score or protect their lead. This is a risk when using young players, and the Song Lam Nghe An coaching staff probably anticipated this when they took the risk.

Another problem for Song Lam Nghe An is the way they are using foreign player Raphael Success. After 8 matches, the Nigerian player has yet to show integration with his new team and has not scored a single goal. Raphael has had very few opportunities, and fans in Nghe An have yet to see the chemistry between the foreign striker duo Olaha and Raphael.

Upcoming, Song Lam Nghe An will have two very important home matches after the break against MerryLand Quy Nhon Binh Dinh and Hanoi Police before traveling to Hai Phong. These are both predicted to be challenging matches for Song Lam Nghe An. To remain in the safe zone, the Song Lam Nghe An coaching staff and their young players, who have the youngest average age in the V.League, still have much to improve. This includes, in particular, physical fitness and concentration in the final moments of matches.