Song Lam Nghe An and the problem of penetrating the defense of Dong A Thanh Hoa

This is certainly a difficult problem for coach Phan Nhu Thuat. Because, not only the poor head-to-head record but also the weak ability to score goals away from home this season ofLam River Nghe An.

Despite being the first Vietnamese team to reach the 1,000-goal milestone in the National Championship, Song Lam Nghe An have only scored 7 goals away from home this season after 8 matches.

In the recent match against Ho Chi Minh City Club, it was only thanks to Adriano Schmidt's "unfortunate" handball in the penalty area that the Nghe An team was able to score a goal against goalkeeper Patrik Le Giang.

Apart from the above situation, coach Phan Nhu Thuat's students could not dominate the game compared to the home team even though the team from the city named after Uncle Ho was missing 2 foreign players in the attack. Therefore, Song Lam Nghe An needs to have plans not only to improve the attack but also to improve the playing style when having to travel away from home, thereby achieving better results on away field.

Especially when, in the last 7 times traveling to Thanh Hoa stadium, the Nghe team only had 3 draws, lost 4 matches, scored 2 goals and received 9 goals. It can be said that Dong A Thanh Hoa is the biggest nemesis of Song Lam Nghe An in recent years.

However, there are still bright spots for coach Phan Nhu Thuat and his team to hope for in the upcoming match when in the last 6 matches, Song Lam Nghe An has scored, helping the team win 3 matches, draw 2 matches and only lose 1 match.

Meanwhile, Dong A Thanh Hoa only kept a clean sheet in 1/8 of their most recent matches. As a result, the Thanh team had a streak of 12 consecutive matches without a win, forcing coach Popov to leave the team.

Most recently, in the first match under new coach Tomislav Steinbruckner, Dong A Thanh Hoa lost 1-3 to Hanoi Club. This was a match in which the Thanh team exposed many gaps in the 2 midfields. In addition, they were no longer confident in aerial situations even though they still had the central defender duo Nguyen Thanh Long and Gustavo Sant Ana Santos in the squad. These are the weaknesses that Song Lam Nghe An will exploit in the upcoming match.

Of course, Song Lam Nghe An's first task in the upcoming match will be to defend firmly to ensure the possibility of getting points on Thanh Hoa's field. After that, the Nghe An team will have to look forward to Michael Olaha's quick counter-attacks, or Benjamin Kuku's good wall-building ability to be brought into play to cause difficulties for the rather slow central defender duo of Dong A Thanh Hoa.

In addition, Song Lam Nghe An can use the wing situations to create a breakthrough. The speed of Ngo Van Luong, Le Dinh Long Vu or Ho Van Cuong will help Song Lam Nghe An bring the ball down to the Thanh team's sideline. The quality crosses of Ho Van Cuong, Le Dinh Long Vu, combined with the good aerial ability of Benjamin Kuku and Michael Olaha will be the attack that the Nghe team can hope to break through the net of goalkeeper Trinh Xuan Hoang.

In addition, the Nghe An team will also have to make the most of set pieces in the upcoming match. Ho Khac Ngoc's free kick ability and Sebastian Zaracho's return will also be options for Song Lam Nghe An to exploit in the upcoming Thanh Nghe Derby.

Meeting Dong A Thanh Hoa at a time when the Thanh team is not in good form is an opportunity for the team.Coach Phan Nhu Thuatget points. Hopefully, Song Lam Nghe An will have an excellent match to leave Thanh Hoa stadium with at least 1 point.