Reasonable substitution helps Song Lam Nghe An turn the tide
If there were no timely substitutions in the second half, perhaps Song Lam Nghe An would now be living in fear in the relegation race.
Entering the match against Hoang Anh Gia Lai, coach Phan Nhu Thuat used the domestic central defender duo Hoang Van Khanh and Le Van Thanh to confront foreign player Washington Brandao. Along with that, midfielder Phan Ba Quyen was pulled down to play the right-back position.
Immediately, the weakness of the players' speed in defenseLam River Nghe Anwas exploited. The team from the mountain town often used passes behind the defenders of the Nghe An team to let the attacking players accelerate. As a result, Hoang Anh Gia Lai scored 2 goals and played with one more player from the 32nd minute of the match.

While the defense was riddled with holes, the offense was not doing much better. There were quite a few misdirected passes that broke the team’s attacking flow. Along with that were the non-lethal finishing situations of attacking players like Ngo Van Luong or Dinh Xuan Tien. These things made many fans at Vinh Stadium imagine a disastrous result for the home team. And many fans left before the end of the first half.
But, these fans are the ones who have to regret the most. Because, the second half of the last match was the half in which Song Lam Nghe An played the best in many years.
This comes from the encouragement and motivation of the players during the half-time break and the personnel adjustments on the field by coach Phan Nhu Thuat. Never before has this coach born in 1984 made such skillful changes.
First was the unexpected substitution when goalkeeper Cao Van Binh entered the field to guard the goal after Nguyen Van Viet was sent off. Although he conceded a goal, the 19-year-old goalkeeper's performance was commendable, contributing to the team's victory.Nghe An football teamkept a clean sheet in the second half.
Also contributing to helping Song Lam Nghe An's defense stand firm in the second half was central defender Tran Nam Hai. From the beginning of the second half, this 21-year-old player played calmly and coordinated well with his teammates to limit the danger of the attacking players on the away team. Unfortunately, Tran Nam Hai suffered an injury and had to leave the field early.
However, this injury brought luck to the Nghe An team when center back Sebastian Zaracho - who came on to replace Tran Nam Hai - was the player who scored the winning goal to make it 3-2. This is probably the most important goal of Song Lam Nghe An this season.
However, the most outstanding change made by coach Phan Nhu Thuat was the introduction of midfielder Tran Manh Quynh to replace Ngo Van Luong. This midfielder wearing the number 11 shirt was the one who initiated the goal that reduced the score for Nguyen Quang Vinh, before making a smart run to score the equalizer 3 minutes later. It can be said that the presence of Tran Manh Quynh helped Song Lam Nghe An's attacks become sharper.
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In addition, it is also impossible not to mention the introduction of Le Dinh Long Vu to replace Phan Ba Quyen. With this change, Ho Van Cuong was moved down to play the right-back position, thereby limiting the dangerous situations down the wing of Hoang Anh Gia Lai. Meanwhile, Le Dinh Long Vu was the one who brought about the free kick and also the one who assisted Sebastian Zaracho to score the decisive goal.
It can be said that all 5 changes ofCoach Phan Nhu ThuatAll performed very well in the last match, contributing to helping the home team have an unbelievable comeback.